Having messed up, tennis great Djokovic showed grace and class

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic paid dearly for a momentary outburst of relatively mild frustration, but handled it like a consummate gentleman. He deservedly lost a chance at a major title crucial to resumé, but he deserves to win more fans for his sportsmanship.

Djokovic, with 17 major singles titles, is chasing Rafael Nadal, with 19, and Roger Federer, with 20, for bragging rights as the greatest major singles champion in tennis history. With Nadal (fear of COVID) and Federer (injury) absent from this year’s U.S. Open, which continues until next weekend, and Djokovic playing dominant tennis all year, the Serbian seemed likely to nab another Grand Slam trophy.