'Was worried something like this might happen' - Becker had warned Novak Djokovic in 2016 of a potential default

The 2020 US Open has been rocked by the disqualification of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic from the tournament. The Serb accidentally hit a lineswoman in frustration during his fourth-round clash against Pablo Carreno Busta, and was promptly defaulted by the on-court officials.

The incident has sent shockwaves around the tennis community, making a difficult year for sport even more absurd. For the top seed at an event to get disqualified due to something like this is totally unexpected, and the Serb has been at the receiving end of serious criticism ever since.

Defaulted for a similar offense in 2017, Denis Shapovalov sympathizes with Novak Djokovic https://t.co/xUGz0onMIG

— Sportskeeda Tennis (@SK__Tennis) September 7, 2020

What makes it worse is that this is not the first time Novak Djokovic has behaved irresponsibly on the court in a fit of anger. He has come close to hitting on-ground personnel multiple times in his career, and his luck finally ran out at the US Open this year.

Boris Becker, who was the Serb's head coach for three years between 2014 and 2016, admitted that he had spoken to him about it back then.

"When I was working in his coaching team, I was in the player box during that incident with the racket-throwing at the 2016 French Open when, accidentally, he nearly connected with a line judge," Becker wrote in a column for the Daily Mail.

"We spoke afterwards about it, because that was a narrow escape. I know what the pressure is like in a big match and was not always Mr Nice Guy as a player. I said to him you can scream as much as you like, break your racket, but don’t throw things or hit the ball away. I was worried something like this might happen."

Becker believes Novak Djokovic has too much on his plate

Novak Djokovic

In his column, Becker also mentioned how taking on too many responsibilities simultaneously might have put the World No. 1 under pressure at the US Open this year.

Novak Djokovic is at the helm of the new Players' Association that has broken away from the ATP Player Council. He went into the US Open as the top seed and the overwhelming favorite, but was dealing with a lot of off-court issues. He also had to intervene in the Adrian Mannarino incident after the Frenchman got entangled in a COVID-19 controversy midway through the tournament

"I feared Novak may have taken on too much when I saw everything that was happening around the new organisation," Becker wrote. "For example, when Adrian Mannarino was being prevented last Friday by local health officials from taking to the court (due to his contacts with positively-tested Benoit Paire), it was the world No. 1 who was trying to reach the State Governor on his behalf to help him.

"He was even playing his own match that night. Most top players would have got their agent involved or something, but instead Novak took it on himself. You cannot pile these extra pressures on during a Grand Slam," Becker added.

Becker believes the best course of action for Novak Djokovic now is to return to the drawing board and reconnect with his roots ahead of Roland Garros.

"What I would advise him to do for now is get back to basics," the German wrote. "He has acknowledged his mistake and it is important that he moves on, if he can, straight away, because there is little time before the French Open.

"He should go home, talk to his wife Jelena — who knows him best of all — talk to Vajda, get back to the practice court and focus purely on his tennis. Roland Garros is always more of a challenge for him, but if he does that then anyone would be stupid to write him off," Becker added.