Tokyo Olympics: Djokovic loses his cool as Carreno Busta beats him to bronze

By Sports Desk July 31, 2021

Novak Djokovic smashed one racket and threw another into the stands on the way to losing his bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.

Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta beat the world number one 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 to finish third in men's singles.

The shock result followed a day on from Djokovic's hopes of a Golden Slam being crushed by defeat to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.

In the wake of his singles third-place match setback, Djokovic also pulled out of the mixed doubles bronze match, citing a left shoulder injury.

Having already clinched the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles, Djokovic was eyeing gold at the Games before heading to the US Open in August, aiming to land the five biggest prizes in tennis in the same season.

That has never been achieved in a calendar year by a man, and Djokovic could not even manage a consolation prize from his singles mission in Japan. How serious his injury is now remains to be seen.

After levelling the singles match by taking the second-set tie-break, Djokovic boiled over in the first game of the decider, firstly when flinging his racket several rows back from the middle of the court after Carreno Busta put away a volley at the net.

Djokovic picked another racket from his bag but petulantly demolished that against a net post after dropping the third game to slide 3-0 behind, receiving a warning from the umpire for that violent outburst.

His anger may have been explained by injury or by his disappointment on Friday, when, as well as losing to Zverev, Djokovic and Serbian team-mate Nina Stojanovic were beaten in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles.

Djokovic would have had one final shot at a medal from his Tokyo trip to come later on Saturday, with the 34-year-old and Stojanovic due to face Ash Barty and John Peers in another match for bronze.

However, shortly after his singles exit, it was announced that Djokovic had pulled out of that match, handing Barty and Peers the medal.

Amid the anger and frustration exhibited on court by Djokovic, it was a banner day for Carreno Busta, as Spain celebrated another tennis medal, having won at least one in eight of the last nine Olympics.

The 30-year-old fell to the court in joy at the end of the two hours and 47 minutes it took him to defeat the world number one, his elation a sharp contrast to the emotions of his beaten opponent.

Related items

  • World number one Swiatek sees off Xiyu in Madrid opener World number one Swiatek sees off Xiyu in Madrid opener

    World number one Iga Swiatek overcame Wang Xiyu with the minimum of fuss on Thursday to progress to the third round of the Madrid Open.

    Swiatek has yet to win the title in Madrid, which is the only clay-court European event at which the Pole has not triumphed, but she got off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Xiyu.

    "I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."

    Next up for the 22-year-old is a third-round tie against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea on Saturday.

    Data Debrief

    Swiatek has registered 150 match wins on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are the next best with 108 wins each.

    She also became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.

  • Dominant Gauff double bagels Rus at Madrid Open Dominant Gauff double bagels Rus at Madrid Open

    Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.

    Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday. 

    The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.

    Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.

    Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner. 

    Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."

    Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat

    Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.

    The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome. 

  • Nadal cruises past teen Blanch to tee up De Minaur rematch in Madrid Nadal cruises past teen Blanch to tee up De Minaur rematch in Madrid

    Darwin Blanch presented little challenge for Rafael Nadal, who dropped just one game in a convincing 6-1 6-0 triumph at the Madrid Open.

    Nadal is feeling his way back to fitness, but 16-year-old qualifier Blanch offered little resistance to the 22-time major champion on Thursday.

    Making his farewell appearance at the Madrid Open, where he has won five titles, Nadal needed just 64 minutes to progress to round two.

    "I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes," said Nadal.

    "I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I'm happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future."

    Nadal's reward is a rematch with Alex de Minaur, who he lost to last week in Barcelona.

    Data Debrief

    This game saw the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents in the history of ATP Masters 1000 events.

    Nadal has now registered 57 wins at the Madrid Open, which is 20 clear of any other player. 

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.