Tokyo (AFP)

Novak Djokovic will not be Olympic champion: the Serbian, world No.1 and big favorite in Tokyo, was beaten on Friday in the Olympic Games semifinals by Alexander Zverev, seeing his gold medal dreams once again put on hold. late.

The German, 5th in the world, will face in the final Sunday the Russian competing under the neutral banner Karen Khachanov (25th), who defeated the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta a little earlier, Djokovic's next opponent on Sunday in the match for the bronze medal.

The thunder roared several times during this first semi-final, but it was during the second that the lightning fell ... on Djokovic.

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Arrived in the last four without losing a single set and leaving only crumbs to his opponents, the Serbian cracked, beaten 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, under the pressure of Zverev, at the end of 'a high-flying match.

This defeat put an end to his ambition to win Olympic gold for the first time, the only title still missing from his prestigious record.

- "I feel awfully bad" -

Bronze medalist for his first Games in Beijing in 2008, the Serbian has been following disillusionment at the Olympics.

After failing at the foot of the podium in London, he was eliminated in the first round in Rio.

This new setback also puts an end to the hope of the world No. 1 to achieve this year the "Golden Slam", or golden Grand Slam, by winning the same year the four major tournaments and the Olympics, a feat only achieved by the German Steffi Graf in 1988.

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In the evening, "Djoko" conceded a second loss in mixed doubles this time with his compatriot Nina Stojanovic against the Russians Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, but can still hope for a medal of bronze Saturday.

Little consolation for the Serbian who said: "There, I feel terribly bad" just after this second setback in a few hours.

"I hope that tomorrow it will be a new start, and that I will manage to bring back a medal for my country," he added in the mixed zone, visibly dejected and not wishing to linger.

Already crowned at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, Djokovic, 20 major titles on the clock, still has a chance, if he wins the US Open, to achieve the calendar Grand Slam , as Rod Laver had done in 1969.

- "I apologize" -

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry (for him). He remains the greatest player of all time. (...) I know he came here to engrave his name in history, that he was looking for the + Golden Slam +. But you can't always win, "Zverev said earlier.

"It also feels good to be able to win against him once in a while."

He is guaranteed to win a medal for Germany.

"It is without doubt one of the greatest achievements of my career," he said.

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"Here, I do not only play for myself or for those close to me, I also play for all the sportsmen, all the people who have stayed in Germany and are watching me. The Olympic Games are the biggest sporting event in the world" , estimates the 24-year-old player, already winner of 15 ATP titles, including two won this year (Madrid, Acapulco).

"It's sport, he just played better. He served extremely well and my serve dropped drastically. My game shattered to pieces," Djokovic briefly analyzed.

At the start of the afternoon, Khachanov also showed great mastery against Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3, who fell the day before another Russian, Daniil Medvedev, world No. 2.

If he wins on Sunday, he could become the first Russian Olympic tennis champion since Yevgeny Kafelnikov crowned in Sydney 21 years ago.

© 2021 AFP