Tag: Djokovic

Defending champion Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the ATP Finals because of an “on-going injury”.

The 37-year-old Serb, who has won a record seven titles at the event, had already qualified as the sixth most successful player on the ATP Tour this season.

“I was really looking forward to being there, but due to on-going injury I won’t be playing next week,” Djokovic wrote on social media. “Apologies to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament. See you soon.”

Djokovic, who has won a record 24 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, will not play again this season. He has not specified the nature of his injury.

He won 37 of his 46 matches in 2024 and claimed his sole title at the Olympic Games in Paris – landing the gold medal that had previously eluded him.

It is the first season since 2005 in which he has not won an ATP event and only the fourth since 2008 where he has not won one of the four Grand Slam titles.

Last month, Djokovic indicated that competing in the tour’s year-end finals was not a priority.

“I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings,” Djokovic, who beat the current world number one Jannik Sinner to win last year’s title, told Serbian reporters.

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The former world number one reiterated he wants to focus on the Grand Slams as he looks to prolong his career.

His next tournament is likely to be the Australian Open, which starts on 12 January.

In Melbourne, Djokovic will be aiming for an all-time record 25th   major singles title – putting him clear of Australia’s Margaret Court – and a 100th tour-level trophy.

His withdrawal from the ATP Finals means the eight-man field for the Turin tournament is set.

Norway’s Casper Ruud, Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who looked set for an exciting battle this week for the final two places, have qualified as a result.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz of the United States had already clinched their spots.

The tournament takes place in the Italian city between 10-17 November.

It will be the first time since 2001 that the event does not feature at least one of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic completed his career Golden Slam as the 37-year-old Serb fought off Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in a magnificent Olympic men’s singles final battle at Roland Garros.

After heartbreak in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, Djokovic simply would not be denied the one title that had eluded him for so long, winning 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in front of an enthralled crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Top seed Djokovic delivered one of the finest performances of his career to deny Alcaraz and become only the fifth player to win all four singles Grand Slams and the Olympic title.

Neither player took a backward step in a ferocious contest in which the first set alone lasted one hour 33 minutes as they wrestled for control in a series of spellbinding games.

Alcaraz cracked first in the tiebreak and when another tiebreak was required to decide the second set, again Djokovic again found another gear, sealing victory with a stunning forehand winner down the line.

Djokovic roared to the sky and after consoling Alcaraz at the net he then fell to his knees and sobbed in the centre of the court before climbing into the crowd to be swamped by his family, friends and team.

While Djokovic, the oldest player to win the Olympic singles title since the sport returned to the Games in 1988, cried tears of joy, the 21-year-old Alcaraz was inconsolable after falling short of adding the gold medal to this year’s French Open and Wimbledon crowns.

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Djokovic, had lost three times in Olympic singles semi-finals and knew arriving in Paris this was his last realistic chance to fill the last remaining space in a trophy cabinet that contains a men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles.

And how he earned it – overturning his crushing loss to Alcaraz in last month’s Wimbledon final to become the first man to win the Olympic singles without dropping a set.

“It was an incredible fight and I had to play my best tennis,” an emotional Djokovic told Eurosport before the medals ceremony as Serbian fans celebrated in the stands.

“It was fair that the two sets finished in tiebreaks. I put my heart, my soul, everything to win gold.

“I did it for my country first, for Serbia.”

Djokovic joins an elite club of Andre Agassi, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf in winning all four Grand Slams and the Olympic title in their careers.

Novak Djokovic crushed Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in their blockbuster Olympics clash as the two titans met for the 60th and possibly final time.

The showdown between the two most successful men’s tennis players in history appeared to be fizzling out before a late fight-back from Nadal enabled him to avoid his heaviest-ever defeat by Djokovic.

“I’m very relieved,” said Djokovic. “Everything was going my way, I was 6-1, 4-0 up but I played a sloppy service game and gave him chances.”

It was 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic’s 31st win in a rivalry that began on the same Roland Garros clay courts in 2006.

The Serb added: “I never thought back in 2006 that we’d still be playing each other almost 20 years later.”

Nadal admitted Djokovic was the “clear favourite” ahead of their first clash in more than two years, with the Spaniard a shadow of the player who reigned for the best part of two decades at Roland Garros.

While 14 of Nadal’s 22 Grand Slams have come in Paris, the 38-year-old has been plagued by injuries in recent years and he has slumped to 161st in the world.

His participation in the singles in Paris had been in doubt until the last minute.

Djokovic has not had a good season by his stratospherically high standards but the 37-year-old Serbian rose to the occasion in his pursuit of an elusive Olympic gold.

The top seed raced into a 5-0 lead before Nadal finally got on the board but Djokovic closed out the set and surged 4-0 ahead in the second before Nadal offered some belated resistance.

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Nadal clawed his way back to 4-4 only for Djokovic to break once more, this time making no mistake as he put away his old foe and perhaps brought down the curtain on one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport.

Djokovic, a bronze medallist on his Olympic debut in 2008, goes on to face Matteo Arnaldi or Dominik Koepfer for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Nadal will turn his focus to the doubles where he is in a dream-team pairing with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz, the reigning men’s French Open and Wimbledon champion, takes on Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor later Monday in the singles.

Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek stepped up her quest for gold by powering into the third round.

The four-time French Open champion underlined her status at the heavy favourite in Paris, swatting home hope Diane Parry aside 6-1, 6-1 and will meet China’s Wang Xiyu for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Pole has won her past 23 matches at Roland Garros, with three clay titles already under her belt this season.

Swiatek, tested in her opening match under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier, enjoyed a far more straightforward outing in bright sunshine on Monday.

“I think it was a pretty solid performance, better than the first round, so I’m happy that I could play a little bit more of my game and, of course, the conditions were also nice,” she said.

US second seed Coco Gauff dispatched Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carle 6-1, 6-1.

Next up for her is Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic, who put out former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.

Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, this year’s French Open runner-up to Swiatek, eased into the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Magda Linette.

Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova coasted past China’s Wang Xinyu while Maria Sakkari of Greece also advanced.

Rafael Nadal insists Novak Djokovic will be the favourite when they clash at the Paris Olympics, after the Spaniard battled to victory over Marton Fucsovics in the first round.

Nadal had left his participation in the singles in doubt until the last minute because of a thigh injury, and was made to work hard for his 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

The 38-year-old – who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles on the clay of Roland Garros – believes old rival Djokovic will be favourite when they meet for the 60th time.

“Situations are completely different for him, for me. He’s being very competitive. I was not being very competitive for the last two years, so in that case, I think probably he is the clear favourite,” said Nadal, who holds an 8-2 head-to-head advantage over the Serb at Roland Garros.

 “I’m going to try my best to bring the best to the court and then let’s see how far I can go and how many problems I can create for him.”

Nadal looked to be cruising after racing through the first set on Court Philippe Chatrier before Fucsovics dug his heels in.

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The Hungarian world number 83 raised his level after a poor start and forced Nadal to a third set.

Fucsovics held three break points for a 3-1 lead in the decider but Nadal withstood the threat, breaking in the following game to wrest the momentum back.

A gritty hold of serve edged Nadal closer to victory, with the Spaniard eventually seeing off a dogged Fucsovics after two hours and 30 minutes.

Nadal, a singles gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and doubles champion at Rio four years later, is playing just his seventh tournament of 2024.

He reached the final in Bastad last weekend but suffered a setback in training on Wednesday, jeopardising his hopes of appearing at a fifth Olympics.

Nadal teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles on Saturday, but he had his right thigh heavily bandaged as the pair won their first-round match in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic says he has “high expectations” as he chases an elusive Olympic gold medal, with his confidence unshaken despite a poor year by his stellar standards.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has not won a single title this season, losing in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final earlier this month.

He returns to Roland Garros for a fifth Olympics, attempting to improve on the bronze he earned on his debut at the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Serbian world number two faces a mouth-watering clash with Rafael Nadal if both players win their opening matches.

Djokovic has missed out on the podium at the past three Olympics, twice finishing fourth, including in Tokyo three years ago when his bid for a rare golden calendar Grand Slam came up short.

Carlos Alcaraz is the favourite for the title in Paris after landing his first French Open title and defending his Wimbledon crown, but Djokovic has made a habit of proving doubters wrong.

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 “When it comes to bookmakers, people will always talk,” Djokovic said at a Serbian team press conference. “I haven’t yet won a title in this calendar year so people tend to count me out, but it has happened before and it can always change. So it can be a motivator.”

The 37-year-old pulled out before his French Open quarter-final with a knee injury at the start of June but made a swift return following an operation in time to play at Wimbledon.

 “I feel more ready now than I was for Wimbledon,” said Djokovic, who begins his Olympic campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden.

Djokovic has made no secret of the fact that winning Olympic gold remains one of his “biggest dreams”, as the only major honour missing from his list.

 “The expectations are always high, which is something that I cannot change and don’t want to,” he said.

 “Approaching Olympic Games is always a huge challenge for me because I put extra expectations and pressure on myself, and of course, the nation as well.”

 “The objective is always the highest one,” he added. “I’m hoping I can perform by best and get to the medal match.”

The tournament will officially mark the end of Andy Murray’s career, with Nadal also nearing retirement, but Djokovic said he had no plans to hang up his racquet.

 “I don’t have retirement close in my mind, to be honest even though I know a lot of people would love me to retire so this era is done,” he said.

A match between Djokovic and Nadal would be the 60th instalment of one the sport’s greatest rivalries.

Djokovic holds a 30-29 edge over the Spaniard, but the pair have not faced off since Nadal won their French Open quarter-final two years ago.

 “I am excited for this duel in the second round, and I will give it my all,” he said.

Grand Slam record-breakers Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on an Olympics second-round collision course in the draw for the Paris Games.

Nadal, a singles gold medallist at the 2008 Olympics, is playing in his final Games having also won doubles gold in Rio in 2016, while Djokovic was a bronze medallist in singles in 2008.

Serbia’s Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and top seed in Paris following the withdrawal of world number one Jannik Sinner, begins his campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden.

 “I am excited for this duel in the second round, and I will give it my all,” said Djokovic, who has faced Nadal 59 times over the past 18 years. “I am aware of the importance of the Olympic Games. I represent my country, which is more responsibility and even more pressure.”

Spain’s Nadal, who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slams on the clay of Roland Garros, faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in his opener.

French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, tackles 275th-ranked Hady Habib of Lebanon in opening round of the tournament, which starts tomorrow.

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 “Roland Garros is the most special place in the world of tennis for me,” said 38-year-old Nadal, who was defeated in the first round of the French Open by Alexander Zverev last month during an injury-hit season.

 “This year I was not able to spend a lot of time at Roland Garros so I am excited to be back here. It’s another opportunity and a chance to enjoy every single moment.”

Defending Olympic champion Zverev, seeded third, takes on Jaume Munar of Spain.

Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, playing in Paris as a neutral following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, will meet Rinky Hijikata of Australia.

Two-time singles gold medallist Andy Murray, who will end his career at the Olympics after almost two decades on tour, will only play doubles.

The 37-year-old former world number one underwent surgery to remove a cyst on his back before Wimbledon, which also sidelined him from singles at the All England Club.

At the Olympics he will play doubles with Dan Evans.

 “The Olympics are incredibly special for me and I am happy to do it one more time to compete for my country,” Murray said at the draw.

 “I trained the last few weeks to get myself ready to play singles and doubles but I am getting older and it’s harder to recover from all the injuries. I just ran out of time.”

Murray and Evans start their doubles bid against Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel.

Nadal and Alcaraz, who will team up for the first time, face Argentina’s Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez.

Nadal, Djokovic and Nishikori are playing at the Olympics for the fifth time in their careers.

Also making a final appearance will be Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who announced Thursday she will retire once the Games end.

The 36-year-old, who won three Grand Slam titles, was a silver medallist in singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In a first-round clash of mothers, Kerber faces four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan.

 “I took the toughest decision of my life today,” said 36-year-old Kerber.

 “It is not easy to make such a big decision and if I could, I would play forever.”

Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, returning to the scene of her fourth French Open title last month, begins against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.

Second-ranked US Open champion Coco Gauff, who missed the Tokyo Olympics three years ago with Covid, takes on Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.

Gauff will join basketball great LeBron James as a flag-bearer for the US team in Friday’s opening ceremony on the Seine in the heart of the French capital.

Carlos Alcaraz overpowered seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets to retain his Wimbledon title in a brutal statement that the new era of men’s tennis has arrived.

The Spanish third seed produced a performance combining awesome power with delicate touch to win 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7⁄4), collecting the fourth Grand Slam of his young career.

Alcaraz equals the Open Era record for most Grand Slams won at the age 21 or under, joining Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.

And he is just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back.

Djokovic, 37, who had knee surgery just weeks ago, was aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam – which would have been a record in the men’s and women’s game.

But he had no answers in the Centre Court sunshine as the electric Alcaraz pounded him from the back of the court and treated the crowd to an array of his trademark drop shots.

“Honestly, it is a dream for me winning this trophy,” said the Spaniard. “I did an interview when I was 11 and I said my dream is to win Wimbledon.

“For me this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and the most beautiful trophy.”

Alcaraz paid tribute to his beaten opponent, who only found his range in the third set.

“Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he was going to have his chances,” said Alcaraz who had needed five sets to defeat the Serb in the 2023 final.

 “It was difficult but I tried to stay calm going into the tie-break and tried to play my best tennis. I was glad at the end I could find the solutions.”

Alcaraz seized the initiative in a first game of breath-taking quality lasting 14 minutes, taking advantage of his fifth break point.

The Spaniard settled quickly into his routine on serve and went up a double break when Djokovic double-faulted in the fifth game.

The shell-shocked Serbian, playing in his 10th  Wimbledon final, held serve to love to close the gap to 5-2 but dumped the ball into the net to hand the Spaniard the first set.

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Alcaraz was immediately on the front foot in the second set, forcing a break in the first game and fending off pressure on his own serve to take a 2-0 lead.

A Djokovic backhand into the net in the seventh game handed Alcaraz another break point and a double fault put the defending champion 5-2 up and on the cusp of a two-set lead.

The Centre Court crowd, including Catherine, Princess of Wales, looked on in disbelief as their hopes for a titanic tussle evaporated.

The under-par Djokovic fended off another of clutch of break points early in the third set to stay alive and showed signs that he was finding his rhythm.

But Alcaraz broke for a 5-4 lead and moved to 40-0 on his own serve, only to suffer a wobble as Djokovic saved all three championship points, breaking for the first time in the match.

He recovered his composure quickly and the set went to a tie-break.

Djokovic went wide with a forehand to give Alcaraz a 5-3 lead and the Spaniard won the title with his fourth championship point, clambering up to the players’ box to celebrate with his family and coaching team.

The champion struck 42 winners to Djokovic’s 26 over the course of the match.

Princess Catherine, patron of the All England Club, handed over the trophy.

Novak Djokovic came up short in his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title

Last month she tentatively returned to British public life for the first time since her diagnosis, attending a military parade in London to mark King Charles III’s official birthday.

Djokovic, still without a title this year, will now turn his attention to the Paris Olympics as he seeks to win gold for the first time.

 “It obviously was not the result I wanted but of course in the first couple of sets the level of tennis wasn’t up to par from my side,” he said.

“But credit to Carlos for playing elite tennis, especially from the back of the court, he had it all today.”

 Novak Djokovic progressed to a record-equalling 13^th  Wimbledon semi-final without hitting a ball after Alex de Minaur pulled out injured  yesterday as former champion Elena Rybakina eased through.

Australian ninth seed De Minaur, 25, announced shortly after midday at the All England Club that he was “devastated to pull out due to a hip injury”.

It means Djokovic has now equalled Roger Federer’s men’s record of 13 semi-final appearances at Wimbledon as he closes on the Swiss great’s mark of eight singles titles.

The 37-year-old Serbian is also through to a record-extending 49^th  men’s Grand Slam semi-final where he will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

De Minaur, who beat Djokovic at the United Cup in January, said: “It’s no secret that this would have been the biggest match of my career but it’s a unique injury.

 “I woke up this morning wanting to feel some sort of miracle, but there was a high risk of making the injury worse if I stepped on court.

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 “One stretch, one slide could take this from a three to six weeks’ injury to four months out.”

Djokovic will play 25^th  seed Musetti for a place in Sunday’s showpiece match after the Italian beat US 13^th  seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-6 (7⁄5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

The world number two – who had knee surgery last month – does not have a title to his name this year and is still seeking a first victory against a fellow top-10 player.

But a historic 25^th  Grand Slam triumph is coming into sharp focus for Djokovic, who demolished Holger Rune in straight sets in the fourth round.

The Serb has a 5-1 winning record over 22-year-old Musetti, including a come-from-behind five-set victory at the French Open last month.

 “Djokovic knows the stadiums here better than me,” admitted the Italian. “He’s a legend everywhere and has done unthinkable things. We’ve played lots of times and I expect a huge fight.

 “It’s the toughest challenge in tennis but I am an ambitious guy and I like to be challenged. I will give 100 percent.”

In early action on Wednesday, 2022 champion Rybakina barely broke sweat in swatting aside last year’s semi-finalist Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2 in 61 minutes.

She will face Barbora Krejcikova for a place in Saturday’s final after the Czech 31st seed came out on top against Jelena Ostapenko in a battle of former French Open champions.

Russian-born Rybakina, now 19-2 in main-draw matches at Wimbledon, broke the Ukrainian 21st seed four times in the match on Centre Court.

The fourth seed was broken in the first game in front of the watching Queen Camilla but hit back straight away and barely put a foot wrong after that.

The 25-year-old, who crunched 28 winners to Svitolina’s eight, said she had “amazing memories” from 2022 but does not like the favourite tag.

 “I have an aggressive style of game, I have a huge serve so it’s a big advantage,” she said.

Novak Djokovic came through a testing Wimbledon workout to stay on course for a record-equalling eighth men’s title.

Jessica Pegula became the highest-ranked player to exit the tournament so far, dumped out by China’s Wang Xinyu in the second round but women’s top seed Iga Swiatek cruised through.

Seven-time champion Djokovic did not have it all his own way against British wild card Jacob Fearnley but came through 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 in a match lasting three hours.

It appeared to be business as usual for the Serbian as he coasted into a two-set lead on Centre Court but the 277th -ranked Fearnley broke his illustrious opponent twice in the third set to reduce the deficit.

Fearnley, playing in his first Grand Slam, carved out two break points in the sixth game of the fourth set but missed his chance and Djokovic broke in the 11th game before serving out for t

 “I didn’t have a chance to see him play,” said Djokovic, 37. “Actually two days ago, I saw him for the first time4 “Obviously there’s always an element of surprise and with him having nothing to lose.”

“Most of the British players grow up being exposed to grass courts, quick surfaces, so they know exactly how to play. It’s a very windy day, very challenging conditions and I thought he served very well.”

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Djokovic, who is playing with protection after a recent knee operation, is seeking to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon men’s titles and is aiming for a record 25th  Grand Slam title.

Fifth-ranked Pegula went down 6-4, 6-7 (7⁄9), 6-1 to China’s Wang Xinyu, who celebrated her first win against a top-10 player.

The American battled back after losing the first set, saving a match point in the second-set tie-break, before levelling the match.

But China’s 42nd -ranked Wang raced into a 5-0 lead in the decider and sealed the deal.

Wang, 22, said: “Couple of days ago I was asking my coach, ‘When will this happen?’

 “Jessica was really tough to play on grass. Her ball was super low and I’m just really happy I won in the end.”

Wang will face Harriet Dart, who defeated Nottingham champion Katie Boulter in an all-British clash for a spot in the last 16.

World number one Swiatek progressed smoothly into the third round at the expense of Croatia’s Petra Martic, racking up a 21st straight win.

A single break in each set was enough to give the 23-year-old, who has never been past the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Novak Djokovic is yet to make a call on whether he will play at this year’s Wimbledon championships but said on Tuesday his recovery from surgery is going “surprisingly well” and he has his sights set on the Paris Olympics.

Djokovic has been training at Wimbledon this week on the practice courts as he steps up his recovery from surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee. He travelled from London to Munich on Tuesday to watch Serbia’s 0-0 draw with Denmark.

“I haven’t decided yet if I’m playing Wimbledon. I’ll decide in the next few days,” Djokovic said on RTS in Munich. “Thank God, the recovery is going surprisingly well. After Wimbledon are the Olympic Games in Paris, which I am especially looking forward to.”

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Djokovic picked up the injury at the French Open during his fourth-round match against Francisco Cerundolo on June 3. A day later Djokovic announced he had torn the meniscus and would be withdrawing from the tournament and then had surgery on June 5.

The surgery went well, but Djokovic was reluctant to put a time frame on the recovery. At the time it was expected he’d miss Wimbledon to prioritise getting fit for Paris 2024. Gold in the men’s singles is one of the few titles Djokovic is yet to win.

But Djokovic’s recovery is progressing quicker than expected, and he is still in the mix for Wimbledon. Djokovic is a seven-time men’s singles champion at Wimbledon. The draw for takes place on Friday morning.