Novak Djokovic’s dream of adding a second Davis Cup to his 20 Grand Slam titles was on Friday shattered when Croatia defeated Serbia in the semi-finals, but the world No. 1 insisted: “I have no regrets.”
Djokovic and partner Filip Krajinovic lost 7-5, 6-1 to top-ranked Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic, the Olympic and Wimbledon champions, in the decisive doubles rubber.
Croatia, the 2005 and 2018 Davis Cup winners, are to face either Russia or Germany in today’s final.
Photo: Reuters
Djokovic had earlier defeated Marin Cilic for the 18th time to keep Serbia alive. Djokovic, unbeaten in singles in the tournament since 2011, triumphed 6-4, 6-2.
It was his 19th successive Davis Cup singles win.
“My season ended tonight and I have no regrets,” said Djokovic, who hinted at fatigue at the end of a rollercoaster year.
“I’ll take advantage of the next few days to rest, recover and forget about tennis,” he added.
Djokovic refused to discuss if he would defend his Australian Open title next month with tournament organizers insisting all players be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The 34-year-old has refused to say whether or not he has been vaccinated.
Defeat for Serbia meant Djokovic closed his season having agonizingly missed out on the first calendar Grand Slam by a male player in more than half a century when he lost the final of the US Open.
His hopes of a first Olympic singles gold medal were also dashed in Tokyo.
He still ended the year tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Slams, claimed the year-ending world No. 1 ranking for a record seventh time and would tomorrow mark a total of 350 weeks in the top ranking.
Djokovic has also extended his record Masters collection to 37 titles.
“He [Djokovic] showed that he was No. 1 in the world in singles,” Mektic said. “But luckily we didn’t play that sport — we played the sport with four people. We’re so happy.”
In the opening rubber, Borna Gojo, ranked a lowly 279, pulled off a surprise win over world No. 33 Dusan Lajovic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Gojo has played well above his world ranking in the tournament so far and showed real mettle against Lajovic to come back from a set down, especially after letting slip a 4-2 and 40-0 lead in the first set, losing 17 of the next 18 points.
He also saw off Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego (ranked 27) in the quarter-final and Australia’s Alexei Popyrin (67) in the group stages.
“In the first set I was up 4-2 40-0, I was in control, I slipped in that game there. I got down on myself a little bit, but then the captain and the teams and the fans picked me back up,” Gojo said.
“Obviously Davis Cup is a special competition where the pressure is bigger on everyone and I managed to play some of my best tennis here at this tournament,” he said. “I’m very happy that I managed to get those big wins, ranking wise, but for me it’s more important that I managed to get the point for the team.”
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
RSS