French Open: "Awkward Deja Vu" Novak Djokovic Explains Ball Hitting Line Judge In Fourth Round

Accidentally as it may seem, Novak Djokovic dragged himself into yet another situation similar to that at the US Open for having to hit the ball at the line judge after winning his fourth-round match against Karen Khachanov on Monday. 

Djokovic raced passed the Russian in straight sets 6-4 6-3 6-3 for a place in the quarter-final which he could have been disqualified from for striking the ball at the line judge but was deemed not dangerous as the ball was still in play. 

Neither was the top-seeded player happy with the incident and later explained it was an "awkward" moment during the match and wants to meet with the line judge over the injury sustained from the ball hitting him. 

"It was very awkward deja vu," he explained. "I'm actually trying to find the linesperson and see if he's okay because I saw he had a little of a bruise, like redness."

The top seed improved 33-1 on entering the quarter-final on his campaign for 18th career Gram Slam title and his season's fifth - he passed Rafael Nadal record on winning his 36th Masters 1000 title at the Italian Open to be the second all-time winner after Roger Federer.

As a professional, the Serb explained "ball ricochets from the racquet and the frame" to hit an audience or even a line umpire is a common incident he has witnessed in 15 years of his career.