HOW DJOKOVIC FAILED TO ACHIEVE GOLDEN SLAM AT TOKYO OLYMPICS

Serb Novak Djokovic came to the Tokyo Olympics as World top-ranked aiming for a Golden Slam. But he left the championship without a medal short of expectations of many pundits.

The World top- ranked player lost to Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the bronze-medal match of the tennis event. It came as third defeat in two days after he was beaten by German Alexander Zrevev in the semi-finals to end his bid for the Golden Slam, which is winning all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold in the same year.

The extreme conditions and close schedule of matches for the singles and the doubles obviously needed more tenacity, but the Serbian could not absorb the intense pressure of the championship and that he didn’t achieve the Golden Slam ambition.

Having played less than 24 hours before the bronze medal match he felt he didn’t deliver on the two occasions losing both matches.

“The level of tennis dropped. Also due to exhaustion-mentally and physically.” Djokovic said. “I gave it all, whatever I had left in the tank-which was not much.”  The Serbian tennis star added.

The French Open champion, Djokovic showed some flash of intent to win as he saved a match point in the second set tiebreaker, but surprisingly the match temperament was evident in his on court behavior, firstly he threw his racket over seats to the stand following a well volleyed shot from the Spaniard which he couldn’t respond with a return to his opponent. Another was that he lost his cool at the decisive set when it was obvious Busta was on the ‘cruise drive’ to winning the set as he slammed his racket into the nest post.

Although, after regaining his cool he was warned by the umpire, which he was lucky, it was the first call to discipline. Otherwise, he would have been penalised. He was eventually defeated 6-3 in the third set, missing out from the Olympic Tennis singles bronze medal and withdrew from the mix doubles too. Djokovic apparently missed out of the mix doubles bronze medal which he was scheduled to meet the Australian duo of Ashleigh Barty and John Peers citing shoulder injury.

With the Tokyo Olympic Games over, Novak will set his ambition to winning the U.S Open title to complete the Grand Slam calendar year having won the Australian Open, the French Open and the Wimbledon this year. He would have gone in history as the second tennis player to win the Golden Slam after Steffi Graf first achieved it in 1988.