3 years ago
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TOKYO — With his Golden Slam bid implicit for astatine slightest different 3 years, Novak Djokovic rested his caput connected Alexander Zverev’s enarthrosis arsenic his German hostile and person consoled him.
“I told him that he’s the top of each time,” Zverev said. “I cognize that helium was chasing history.”
Djokovic, the top-ranked Serb who had seemed invincible successful each of the biggest tournaments this year, mislaid to Zverev 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 Friday successful the semifinals of the tennis tourney astatine the Tokyo Olympics.
Djokovic was attempting to go the archetypal antheral to triumph each 4 Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic golden successful the aforesaid year. He won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon this twelvemonth and needed the Olympic and U.S. Open titles to implicit the Golden Slam collection.
Steffi Graf successful 1988 remains the lone tennis subordinate to execute the Golden Slam.
“He won 20 Grand Slams,” Zverev said. “So you can’t person everything.
“At the extremity of the time he’s the top of each time, due to the fact that he’s going to triumph the astir Grand Slams, he’s going to triumph the astir Master Series, he’s going to beryllium the longest astatine the satellite No. 1, and I’m definite 99% that this is the lawsuit erstwhile it’s each said and done,” Zverev said.
Zverev’s hostile successful the gold-medal lucifer volition beryllium Karen Khachanov. The Russian bushed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-3.
Djokovic, who hadn’t mislaid since getting beaten by Rafael Nadal astatine the Italian Open last 2½ months ago, volition play Carreno Busta for bronze.
On a humid and muggy evening astatine the Ariake Tennis Park, Djokovic committed a bid of uncharacteristic errors aft a beardown commencement arsenic the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev started to triumph escaped points with his large serve.
When Zverev deed a backhand victor down the enactment that Djokovic didn’t determination for to adjacent it out, Djokovic walked to the nett wherever helium received a lukewarm hug from Zverev arsenic the brace exchanged immoderate words.
“Of people I’m blessed that I’ve won, but successful the extremity of the time I besides cognize (how) helium feels,” Zverev said.
Djokovic’s lone Olympic medal was bronze successful singles astatine the 2008 Beijing Games — his first. He could inactive triumph a golden astatine the Tokyo Games successful mixed doubles.
Djokovic came backmost connected the tribunal small much than an hr aboriginal to play with Serbian spouse Nina Stojanovic successful the mixed doubles semifinals against the Russian duo of Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev.
It’s the 3rd consecutive time that Djokovic was playing 2 matches.
Viktor Troicki, Serbia’s Olympic squad coach, told The Associated Press connected Thursday that the full squad was against Djokovic playing mixed doubles due to the fact that they didn’t privation the lawsuit to tyre him retired with truthful overmuch connected the enactment successful singles.
Djokovic tin inactive spell aft the calendar-year Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open — thing nary antheral has accomplished since Rod Laver successful 1969.
The 34-year-old Djokovic is already the archetypal antheral since Laver that twelvemonth to triumph the archetypal 3 large tournaments successful a season.
Djokovic besides already matched his longtime rivals Roger Federer and Nadal by winning Wimbledon this period for his 20th Grand Slam title. He was the lone subordinate of the Big Three to question to Tokyo and Djokovic has been soaking successful the OIympic acquisition similar fewer different athletes.
Without Djokovic, though, the gold-medal lucifer successful singles volition beryllium lacking prima power. Zverev’s champion vocation effect was reaching the last of past year’s U.S. Open, portion the 25th-ranked Khachanov is coming disconnected a quarterfinal quality astatine Wimbledon and is present successful the biggest last of his career.
Zverev called it “maybe the proudest infinitesimal of my vocation truthful far.
“Because I’m not lone playing for myself I’m not lone playing for my parents, for my brother, for my family,” helium added. “But I’m besides playing for everybody, each the (German) athletes present backmost astatine the basal and everybody backmost astatine location watching.”
In men’s doubles, the top-seeded brace of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic bushed Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 successful an all-Croatian final. It was Croatia’s archetypal golden and archetypal metallic successful Olympic tennis, antecedently having won 3 bronzes.
The New Zealand squad of Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus took bronze by beating Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren of the United States 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Daniell and Venus became the archetypal New Zealand players to triumph a medal successful tennis since 1912, erstwhile Anthony Wilding took bronze successful singles portion representing Australasia. Wilding, New Zealand’s lone Grand Slam singles champion with six titles, was killed during World War I successful 1915 astatine the property of 31.
Associated Press newsman Syd Fryer contributed to this report.
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