Golden Slam eludes Djokovic - Poetic Justice ??

One more time, the best & the favourite bite the dust, crashing down from a position of invincibility - Life is such a great leveler. 

Novak Djokovic is the latest in the addition of such cruel, yet fate levelling instances, that we get to see in our lives. The current World No 1 in Men's Tennis had arrived in Tokyo Olympics gunning for the Golden Slam - to win all the four major Grand Slams & Olympic Gold, a feat summitted only by Steffi Graff in 1988 in the Tennis history till date. For 2021, Novak has already triumphed at the Australian Open, French Open & Wimbledon & was on course to win the Olympics Gold (the only major trophy missing in his cabinet) & then head for the US Open, where also he stands head & shoulders above others to win. 

However, it was a tough day at office for Djokovic, as his dreams came crashing down to a surprising loss to fifth ranked Alexander Zverev, in the semis, despite winning the first set convincingly & then taking an early lead in the second. Novak simply lost his rhythm & his service deserted him, when he needed the most, & his game fell apart, as he watched Zverev reel off eight games in a row to snatch away the second set & from then on command the game to win third set at a canter. Eventually the German Bomber won 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 to become the first German to reach the finals in Olympics, since Tommy Haas won silver in 2000. 

Throughout this year, Djokovic would somehow manage to conjure spectacular victories, especially at the Grand Slams, when all looked over the bar shouting. Matches against Berrettini once in French Open & then at Wimbledon, against Tsitsipas in French Open, against Zverev in Australian Open, against Medvedev in Australian Open, & again against the seemingly invincible Nadal at French Open - it was unbelievable as to how many matches he crawled back from the brink of defeat, till his luck ran out on him at the Olympics in the semis. Poetic Justice finally dawns, a lot of tennis fans across the Globe would feel so !!

The Belgrade born Serbian sportsman, was inconsolable, as he saw his Golden Grand Slam dream crash. So impacted has Novak been, that later in the day he also lost in the mixed doubles semifinals. In fact, by the time this article goes up in air, Novak has also lost the match for the bronze medal (3rd position) to Pablo Busta - so no medals at all for Novak Djokovic at the Olympics this time. The loss to Zeverev has been a huge body blow & even in mixed doubles, Novak finally pulled out stating a shoulder injury. 

Over the years watching & following tennis matches across tournaments, I have always felt that Novak is a bad loser, unlike a Nadal or Federer, & so the fans across the world love him lesser than the other two compatriots - given all of them have 20 Grand Slams under their belt, Novak is still not the top choice. It will be interesting to see, how he picks up the threads to winning ways again. Good Luck Novak.....