SM
Friday, November 8
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Tokyo 2020: Novak Djokovic's game "fell apart" during defeat

:Headline: Tokyo 2020: Novak Djokovic's game 'fell apart' during defeat:
The Serb was beaten by Alexander Zverev in the singles semi-finals and also lost in the last four of the mixed doubles.
Sports Mole

A dejected Novak Djokovic said his game fell apart after he saw his dreams of an Olympic gold medal and a Golden Slam go up in smoke in Tokyo.

The world number one was looking to become the first man in history to win all four grand slam titles and Olympic singles gold in the same year but Alexander Zverev fought back brilliantly after losing the first set to win 1-6 6-3 6-1.

It is the third time Djokovic has lost in the semi-finals at the Olympics, with his only medal so far a bronze in Beijing in 2008.

The 34-year-old still had a chance to win gold in mixed doubles with Nina Stojanovic but a miserable day was complete when they were beaten 7-6 (4) 7-5 by Russian Olympic Committee duo Aslan Karatsev and Elena Vesnina.

"I feel terrible," said Djokovic, who refused to blame the incredibly humid conditions.

"It's just sport. He played better. You've got to give him credit for turning the match around. He served extremely well. I was not getting too many looks at the second serve.

"My serve just drastically dropped. I didn't get any free points from 3-2 up in the second. My game fell apart."

Djokovic does not enjoy playing in humid conditions (Mike Egerton/PA)

Djokovic must try to rouse himself for two shots at a bronze medal on Saturday. He will face Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta in the singles before he and Stojanovic take on Ashleigh Barty and John Peers of Australia.

Djokovic refused to comment on the state of his body, saying of his hopes of rousing himself for another big effort: "Let's see. I feel terrible right now. Tomorrow hopefully fresh start, recover, and at least win one medal for my country."

Zverev will take on Karen Khachanov of the Russian Olympic Committee for the gold medal, and he was in tears on the court afterwards.

The two shared a warm embrace at the net, and Zverev said: "I told him that he's the greatest of all time, and he will be.

"I know that he was chasing history, is chasing the Golden Slam and was chasing the Olympics, but in these kind of moments me and Novak are very close.

"I feel sorry for Novak, but he's won 20 grand slams, 550 Masters series or whatever, you can't have everything.

"It's an amazing feeling knowing that you're going to bring the medal back to your house, back home to Germany. It seemed it was impossible to beat him at this event, so I'm very happy right now. But yet there's still one match to go."

Djokovic had breezed through to the last eight, losing just two games against Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals, but Zverev has also been playing well and this always looked like the biggest hurdle.

Djokovic's other big opponent was the humidity, with which he has never coped well. He persuaded organisers to shift the start of play back from 11am to 3pm to avoid the worst of the heat but conditions were still extremely difficult despite the match not beginning until nearly 5pm.

The Serbian, who was on a 23-match winning streak taking in French Open and Wimbledon titles, looked set for another easy victory when he raced through the opening set and broke Zverev for 3-2 in the second.

But from there the match turned on its head, the powerful German beginning to achieve the seemingly impossible of hitting through his opponent as he won a remarkable eight games in a row.

Djokovic, who can still become the first man in more than half a century to win the calendar Grand Slam by lifting the US Open trophy, finally stopped the rot to hold for 1-4 in the decider but a lacklustre final game showed he knew the match was up.

Khachanov earlier continued his fine form after reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Carreno Busta.

The first tennis gold medal went to Wimbledon champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the men's doubles after they beat countrymen Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig, with both results the best for Croatia in Olympic tennis.

Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus won the first tennis medal for players representing New Zealand while, in the mixed final, Karatsev and Vesnina will take on fellow ROC players Andrey Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

body check tags ::

amp_article__457478 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-07-30 14:50:48:
html db last update - 2021-07-30 14:50:48 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Novak Djokovic

Click here for more stories about Serbia

Share this article now:
AM
Read Next:
Wednesday's sporting social: Van Persie's lookalike and Murray's left crushed
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Novak Djokovic Alexander Zverev Aslan Karatsev Elena Vesnina Tennis
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Wednesday's sporting social: Van Persie's lookalike and Murray's left crushed
Amad to the rescue: Ivorian stars as Man United beat PAOK in Europa League

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Felix, Nkunku net brace as Chelsea run rampant in demolition of FC Noah

1

FN

Have Palmer, Rice made the cut? Lee Carsley's final England squad revealed!

2

HP

Dyche 'leaves door open' for Branthwaite exit amid Man United links

NEW

3

D'

Preview: Exeter vs. Charlton - prediction, team news, lineups

4

PE

Amad to the rescue: Ivorian stars as Man United beat PAOK in Europa League

5

AT

Amorim or Guardiola? Man City 'seriously interested' in Man United-linked attacker

6

AO

Preview: Inter Miami vs. Atlanta - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PI

Preview: Crystal Palace vs. Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

8

PC

Preview: Mainz vs. Dortmund - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PM

Ice for Rice? Arsenal's man's injury severity 'revealed' ahead of Chelsea clash

10

IF


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .