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Golden Slam?
Djokovic caps awful Olympics by murdering a couple rackets in bronze medal loss The absence of fans has made the Tokyo Olympics feel slightly less special than usual. But for the first time at these Games, we should actually be thankful that there were no bodies in the seats. The reason? An enormous Novak Djokovic racket toss. During his bronze medal match against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta on Saturday, the Serbian lost his cool in the third set and proceeded to launch his racket into the stands. And he wasn’t done there, as later in the same set he once again took out his frustration on his tool, smashing it into the ground near the net. Carreno Busta would go on to win the third set, taking the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, and bringing home a medal for Spain. And even though he didn’t even win the tournament, the Spaniard told NBC that “this is the best title of my career.” Djokovic has been known to have a quick temper in the past and struggling on the Olympic stage clearly brought that out of him once again. The current world No. 1 came into the Games at the height of the tennis world, winner of the first three ATP majors, the Serbian was looking for the improbable Golden Slam — all four majors and the gold medal in one year. Instead, he will be leaving the Olympic Games without a medal for the third straight time. After taking bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he also failed to medal in both London and Rio. He would’ve still had a chance to bring home a bronze medal in mixed doubles, but after his loss to Carreno Busta, Djokovic withdrew from the match with an apparent left shoulder injury. With his withdrawal, Australia’s Ash Barty and John Peers were awarded the bronze medal without even having to step on the court. Djokovic will now have some time to regroup before he attempts to take home tennis' coveted Grand Slam when the U.S. Open kicks off on Aug. 30.
Re: Golden Slam?Well apparently it gave Carreno Busta that belief!!
Re: Golden Slam?Actually, Novak has been losing two sets to a number of players, but they just can't seem to win a third one in their best of five matches. Re: Golden Slam?Exactly! I was thinking this same thing when he lost to Zverev. Ace was flipping over Djokovic at RG winning from 2 sets down! Many guys can beat Djokovic in best of 3, but best of 5 is a physical and mental beast most cannot seem to overcome facing him. I kind of think losing it here may have been the valve release he needed to refocus and lock it down for the USO. It's gonna be very interesting.
Re: Golden Slam?Outside of an injury their is no chance Djokovic isn’t playing. Just as he didn’t skip Tokyo for a chance at the Golden Slam, outside of a substantial injury he won’t pass up this possible once in a lifetime opportunity either.
Re: Golden Slam?Novak would literally have to be on his death bed to withdraw from the US Open. He knows the opportunity to obtain a truly remarkable achievement in his sport comes along rarely and he will not pass that up. It will put him in a very select group of players and that quite frankly is what Novak plays for. And with Roger and Rafa out it only makes his chances better. There will be huge pressure and the one thing I worry about with Novak is if a match gets tight his temper causes him to lose focus. It will be interesting to see how the chair handles him in this scenario especially in the latter stages of the tournament. Re: Golden Slam?USO will suffer attendance-wise w/o Roger and Rafael. They are the packer of houses for both Tours at dual events. IW will have a tough time as well in early October. |