Novak Djokovic's image takes another hit after US Open default

NEW YORK -- Novak Djokovic arrived in New York prepared to hit the reset button on his reputation and continue his quest to surpass Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the Grand Slam board. He also sought to emerge as a political leader and reformer in the eyes of his peers.

Instead, the 33-year-old, 17-time Grand Slam singles champion skulked out of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center early Sunday evening, refusing to meet with the media after he was defaulted from the US Open for inadvertently striking a line judge in the throat with a ball he smacked in anger over a lost game.

The incident that led to the disqualification of the top seed occurred in the first set of his…