Novak Djokovic: My game fell apart, I came to Tokyo emotionally exhausted

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic felt "terrible" after suffering a surprise loss to Alexander Zverev at the Tokyo Olympics. 

Djokovic, seeded at No. 1, failed in his attempt to reach the Tokyo Olympics fina. 

Zverev, ranked at No. 5 in the world, recovered from a set down to beat Djokovic 1-6 6-3 6-1. 

Djokovic was up by a set and a break but then his game fell apart. 

"Terrible. I feel terrible. My game fell apart," Djokovic said, per Sasa Ozmo. 

Zverev was down 6-1 3-2 before he won eight consecutive games to completely overturn the deficit and take a comfortable lead.

"I just stopped, allowed him to dictate, my first serve percentage was low... At this level, with the pressure of playing for your country at the Olympics," Djokovic added. 

Djokovic came to Tokyo emotionally exhausted 

Two weeks, Djokovic claimed his 20th Grand Slam title after beating Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final. 

"Look, I didn't come here fresh, I came here exhausted emotionally, but very motivated and with a great desire to win a medal for my country. I hope to use at least one of the chances tomorrow," Djokovic revealed. 

Meanwhile, Zverev was delighted after clinching a medal for his country. 

"It's an amazing feeling, knowing that you're going to bring the medal back to your house, back home to Germany," Zverev said. "It's incredible beating the best player in the world undoubtedly right now, and in this season. It seemed it was impossible to beat him at this event, so I’m very happy right now. But there's still one match to go."

After the match, Zverev and Djokovic had a pleasant exchange at the net. 

"I told him that he's the greatest of all time, and he will be," Zverev said of the duo's exchange at the net. "I know that he was chasing history, chasing the golden slam and was chasing the Olympics, but in these kind of moments me and Novak are very close. Of course I'm happy that I've won, but at the end of the day I know how Novak feels."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3rHy4DH