'I’m going to try my best, but anything is possible': Novak Djokovic admits he can't guarantee he won't strike out again

Despite being sorry for his angry outburst that saw him strike out at a ball that hit a line judge in the throat and saw him kicked out of the US Open, Novak Djokovic admitted he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen again.

The world No. 1, who was eliminated from the tournament he was a big favorite to win, and while he has made clear that he never intended for his hit out in frustration to strike an official, he admitted he couldn't go as far as to promise not to repeat the incident in the future.

"It’s not completely out of the blue," Djokovic told the media at the Italian Open.

"I cannot promise or cannot guarantee that I will never ever do anything similar to that in my life.

"I’m going to try my best, obviously, but anything is possible in life.

"The rules are clear. I accepted it and had to move on. That’s what I did.

"I'm trying to be the best version of myself on the court and off the court and I understand that I have outbursts and this is kind of the personality and the player that I have always been.

"I'm going to take this in as profound as possible for me as a big lesson."

Trailing in his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta, the frustrated Serbian sent a ball flying towards the back of the court, where it struck a female line judge at high speed.

The incident saw Djokovic disqualified from the match and the tournament as he left New York without facing the media at the post-match press conference.

He later posted an apology on Instagram and called the line judge to check on her condition after the tournament.

The Serb, who has won the Italian Open four times before in his career, returns to action at the tournament this week when he faces either Italian wildcard Salvatore Curaso or a tournament qualifier.

"It's great I have a tournament a week or 10 days after it happened because I feel the earlier I get back in competition mode the faster I'll overcome the memory and reprogramme it. I'm hoping for the best," said the 17-times Grand Slam winner.