Novak Djokovic lost his temper, his racket and his chance to leave Tokyo with an Olympic bronze medal as he fell to a second improbable defeat in two days against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.
Having missed opportunities to seize an early break, Djokovic conceded the first set and saved a match point in the second before losing his composure in spectacular fashion. The Serb increasingly resembled a man auditioning for a berth in the Olympic field events, flinging his racket high into the stands before hammering it against the net post a couple of games later as he fell 3-0 behind in the decider.
There was to be no reprieve for Djokovic as Carreno Busta, 30 years old and playing in his first Olympics, ran out a 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 winner to claim the bronze medal and heap further woe on the world No 1 following his shock semi-final defeat to Alexander Zverev on Friday.
The Spaniard was overcome by emotion afterwards, lingering on the court long after Djokovic’s departure as he wept joyfully into his towel. He has twice reached the last four at the US Open, and won his first ATP 500 title in Hamburg earlier this month, but this was surely the biggest win of his career. It was just reward for a performance of huge resilience and mental fortitude.
“This is even more incredible than winning a tournament,” said Carreno Busta, who was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals. “I won Davis Cup, and I’ve gone far in other tournaments, but winning an Olympic medal is indescribable.
“I’ve felt the support from Spain, my family and people around me, and have received fond messages from those who saw me lose yesterday. I want to share this medal with all of them.”
For Djokovic, defeat marked a fresh Olympic nadir. He had arrived in Tokyo intent on winning the gold medal that would have given him a chance of becoming the first man in history to win all four majors and the Olympics in the same year. He instead leaves the Japanese capital empty-handed, having failed even to match the bronze medal he won in Beijing in 2008.
To compound his misery, Djokovic later withdrew from the mixed doubles bronze-medal match, in which he was due to partner Nina Stojanovic against the Australian pairing of Ashleigh Barty and John Peers, with a sore left shoulder.
“The exhaustion, both mental and physical, got to me,” said Djokovic. “I’ve had some heart-breaking losses at the Olympic Games and some big tournaments in my career. I know that those losses have usually made me stronger in every aspect. I know that I will bounce back.
“I will try to keep going for the Paris Olympic Games. I will fight for my country to win medals. I’m sorry that I disappointed a lot of sports fans in my country, but that’s sport. I gave it all – whatever I had left in the tank, which was not so much, I left it out on the court.”