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The tennis fan rubs his eyes in awe on Friday night. At the ATP 500 tournament, felt ball giant Novak Djokovic fell to a Lucky Looser and only won three games. That last happened to him at the Australian Open in 2005.
It’s no wonder that the world’s number one has to put up with nasty questions at the subsequent press conference as well. In the middle: Was Djokovic not in the mood to play tennis that Friday night?
The fact is, the Serbian already knew before the tournament began that he had secured world number 1 status by reaching the Vienna quarter-finals at the end of the year. This means the 33-year-old will finish a year at the top of the rankings for the sixth time in his career and will set Pete Sampras’ record in this category.
“Nole” is very healthy
Djokovic after the embarrassing bankruptcy against Sonego: “That certainly influenced me and my game today. I felt that I had already accomplished what I had to do here. I didn’t have the energy and I’m happy with the result. “
The Serbian also protests because he has not been mistreated. “I am perfectly healthy.” Then he praised his opponent: “He was just superior to me. In all areas of the game. He deserves to win. ”
There is another reason for Djokovic’s apathy. Before the game against Sonego, he paid tribute to Amfilohije Radovic, a highly respected clergyman in the Serbian Orthodox Church. Radovic died Friday morning at the age of 83. Djokovic has already stated several times that faith helped him overcome the difficult childhood shaped by the Balkan war.
“To be honest, that’s why I didn’t feel like playing too much. Because the sad news must have influenced me. But not to the point where he couldn’t have competed. “
“It is what it is,” concludes Nole. And he announces that he is now returning to his family in Serbia for the first time. The Paris-Bércy ATP 1000 tournament, which begins next Monday, will be skipped. In the ATP final in London, the world number 1 wants to attack again with vigor.
