Novak Djokovic hurled his racquet into the empty stands and smashed another on a net post as he lost his cool on his way to defeat against Pablo Carreno Busta in the Olympics bronze medal match on Saturday.
The 20-time major champion lost 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 after Spain's Carreno Busta won on his sixth match point.
It is the first time top seed Djokovic has lost two straight singles matches since defeats by Dominic Thiem and Roger Federer at the 2019 ATP Tour Finals.
The match was a gripping encounter played over two hours and 47 minutes in the suffocating Tokyo heat, with both men desperate to secure a medal.
Djokovic, who will bid to win the final leg of the calendar Grand Slam at the US Open, which starts next month, saved a match point in the second set tie-break to force a decider and then four more late in the third set.
But Spaniard Carreno Busta, who also knocked out second seed Daniil Medvedev earlier in the tournament, struck 32 winners in an excellent performance, with Djokovic managing just 18.
The 30-year-old finally wrapped up victory in a lengthy final game when his illustrious opponent put a forehand into the net.
Djokovic brought back memories of his infamous default against Carreno Busta last year at the US Open, when he inadvertently struck a ball at a line judge.
He thew his racquet high into the empty stands as he saw a break point come and go in the opening game of the third set and continued to cut an angry figure, destroying another racquet after a miss at the net.
Djokovic will have a second chance to add to his 2008 Olympic singles bronze later on Saturday, when he and Nina Stojanovic take on Australians Ashleigh Barty and John Peers in the mixed doubles third-place play-off.
Meanwhile, Twitter was buzzing with reactions in response to Djokovic's third defeat in two days. Here are a few reactions on the micro-blogging site:
Shocker!
#NovakDjokovic fails to win bronze medal too! Considering the form he had been in this year, straight out of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 31, 2021
The reaction says it all!
'@pablocarreno91 DID IT! #TokyoOlympics It's Bronze for the Spaniard. pic.twitter.com/FzuTtFTxFg — #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 31, 2021
All smiles!
PABLO WINS BRONZE
@pablocarreno91 beats Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 to make the podium at #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Tennis pic.twitter.com/fCi2k5rax4
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 31, 2021
Not all is lost
Novak Djokovic misses out on the bronze with a rage & tantrum filled 4-6, 7-6, 3-6 loss to Pablo Carreno Busta. Very unexpected end to his singles campaign given the way it started. He still has a chance to win bronze in mixed doubles though, so all is not lost.#Tokyo2020 — Musab (@Musab_Abid) July 31, 2021
A special win for Pablo!
An emotional Pablo Carreno Busta on the Olympic Channel: "I didn't win the title but it's like the best title of my career."
— Jill Martin (@ByJillMartin) July 31, 2021
The pressure of the big stage!
Olympics ain’t the same no matter what anyone says !! Everything is different about it .. proven again!! https://t.co/r4cadJnhyH — Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) July 31, 2021
Disappointing Olympic campaign for Djokovic
Novak Djokovic came in looking for Golden Slam. Goes out with two fourth place finishes while launching his racket into the stands in frustration.
— Tanuj Lakhina (@tanujlakhina) July 31, 2021
With inputs from AFP
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/3lhIbOm
No comments:
Post a Comment