It was a first-round match in 1983 in the regular US Open (not juniors, and not Forest Hills) against American Aaron Krickstein. People can be excused for thinking it was the juniors, as Edberg was 17 and Krickstein 16.

An Edberg serve hit the center-service-line linesman, who was seated, in the genitals. He fell backward and hit his head against the cement and lost consciousnes.

The blow eventually led to the linesman's death, and after that year linesmen stood rather than sat.

Edberg played in the regular US Open but then played in the concurrent junior Open after he had been eliminated.

It was at Flushing Meadows, not Forest Hills. The linesman was judging the center service line, and seated, not standing, judging which was presumably the reason he couldn't get out of the way. He hit his head and died five days later.

I liked watching Edberg play. The new racquets/string technology shortened his career. If wooden racquets with nylon cat-gut stringing had stayed the norm, the game would be better today. People like Edberg and Martina Hingis could have had longer careers. They were 'served off the court' as the saying goes. McEnroe too, and the girl that got stabbed by a Steffi Graf fan.

<thanks to his murderous serve>

The most recent example being Jasmina Tinjic, a player of whom I had never heard before reading accounts of her suspension this past weekend:

<....Djokovic being ranked outside the top 10 seems a bit harsh on the Serbian. The 37-year-old is still competing at the top level and has a chance to further improve his record. Djokovic has already moved past Federer in terms of a majority of tennis achievements, including the number of Grand Slams won by an individual.

With Djokovic ranked five places below Federer in the ESPN list, one wonders if the ranking is fair to Novak Djokovic....>

<Novak Djokovic declined a post-match TV interview after winning in the fourth round of the Australian Open after an on-air personality from the local Australian broadcaster of the tournament made negative comments about him in front of Serbian fans.

On Friday, Channel 9's Tony Jones did a segment with Djokovic fans standing behind him at Melbourne Park. Jones proceeded to do his own chant and called the 24-time Grand Slam champion "overrated" and a "has-been" on air. He also said "kick him out," which was a reference to Djokovic's deportation from Australia in 2022.

Following his win against Jiri Lehecka, Djokovic briefly grabbed the mic and thanked those in attendance with a quick statement, then walked away from the post-match interview. He did stay to sign autographs, but got some boos from the crowd.

Djokovic later shared a video explaining why he didn't want to speak more.

"A few days ago, a famous sports journalist here from Australia who works for a main broadcaster of the Australian Open, Channel 9, decided to mock Serbian fans and he made insulting and offensive comments towards me," Djokovic said.

Djokovic apologized to the reporter who was going to interview him post-match, Jim Courier, and to others who were not involved in the situation. However, he felt strongly about his decision because neither Jones nor Channel 9 had offered an apology.

"I have to stand by my decision and hold this stance until something is done," he said. "I leave it to Channel 9 and hopefully that situation will change for the next match."

Djokovic is the most successful player in Australian Open history with 10 titles, the most recent happening just two years ago.

The incident with Channel 9 blew up and even Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese was asked about it in a radio interview. He described Djokovic as a "fine tennis player" and said there was "place for more respect."

It appears the message was received by the broadcaster.

"I considered it to be humor, which is consistent with most things I do..." Jones said on Sunday. "Having said that, I was made aware on Saturday morning from Tennis Australia via the Djokovic camp that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments. I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them for any disrespect that Novak felt that I caused. As I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does."

Jones also addressed the Serbian fans.

"I do feel as though I've let down the Serbian fans," he said. "I'm not just saying this to try and wriggle out of trouble or anything. I genuinely feel for those fans. So, I can only again tell Novak what I told him 48 hours ago. And that is I do apologize if he felt that I disrespected him."....>

In a quarterfinal yes. But 42-year-old Connors played 20-year-old Jim Courier in the 1991 US Open semis.

In tennis? The emotions of the women players are closer to the surface. They do go up and down a bit, but it's emphasized because of the emphasis on the emotional aspect.

Despite repeated attempts, Serena was never able to equal the career grand slams of Margaret Smith-Court, who remains the greatest women's tennis player of all time with 24 major singles titles including a calendar year grand slam.>