What Went Wrong for Novak Djokovic at Tokyo Olympics 2020?

Novak Djokovic, considered to be one of the strongest contenders for the Olympics gold crashed out unexpectedly. The world no. 1 player who won all the three grand slams this year was in red hot form and was looking unstoppable. However, his campaign stopped when he suffered a loss at the hands of Alexander Zverev. 

The world no. 4 player emerged victorious over his Serbian counterpart. The match went into 3 sets and it delivered all the action and excitement that was expected of this match. In the end, the German won 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. 

Novak dominated the first set but was unable to take the hold of the next 2 sets. Alex took advantage and defeated the Joker.

In the mixed doubles also Novak’s dream of winning the gold for his country was shattered into pieces when he suffered defeat. He and his partner Nina Stojanovic lost against the Russian duo of Vesnina/Karatsev. The final scoreline of the match read 7-6, 7-5 in favor of the Russian. 

Also read: Novak Djokovic out of Tokyo Olympics as he loses to Alex Zverev

What went wrong for Novak Djokovic

Let us hear what Novak has to say in the post-match interview.

“I feel so terrible right now, can’t be positive right now,” said the Joker. “I don’t know I feel terrible… in every sense, but tomorrow hopefully, a fresh start. I can recover and at least win one medal for my country,” he added.

“It’s just sport, you know, he played better. I got to give him credit for turning the match around,” Djokovic on being asked about Zverev said, “He served extremely well, I was not getting too many looks on the second serve. My serve just drastically dropped, I didn’t get any free points from 3-2 up in the second.”

“Yeah, my game fell apart, his game – he won, I think seven or eight games in a row, and yeah, that was it,” said Novak Djokovic in the post-match conference. 

It all comes down to this 🙌

Five medal matches slated as final weekend play is underway…#Tokyo2020 | #Tennis pic.twitter.com/VQxzDERAqr

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 31, 2021

No gold for Novak Djokovic in Tokyo – as he & Stojanovic lose their mixed doubles semi-final to Vesnina & Karatsev.
He will be 37 when the next chance for Olympic gold comes along.
I, for one, am not betting against him.

— Russell Fuller (@russellcfuller) July 30, 2021

What’s next for the Serbian

Following his losses, he will now try his level best to stand in the podium places and earn his country a medal. Novak will play 2 matches today which are for the bronze medal places in men’s singles and the mixed doubles category.

With the Tokyo games coming to an end for him, he will now shift his attention to win the final grand slam of the year. The U.S open is comes later in the month of August. It will be interesting to see how Novak comes back from the Olympic setback.

The World no. 1 player will now try o become the player with the maximum number of grand slams in the men’s section if he wins the upcoming U.S open.