Novak Djokovic leaves Tokyo Olympics without a medal
The world's No 1 tennis player pulled out of the mixed doubles bronze medal match due to a shoulder injury.
24 hours after his shock defeat against Alexander Zverev,
Novak Djokovic
was defeated by Spain’s
Pablo Carreno Busta
in the match for the bronze medal. The world No 1 fell to a 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3 defeat against Carreno Busta, who is ranked 11th in the world by the International Tennis Federation.
Following his defeat against the Spaniard, Djokovic withdrew from the mixed doubles bronze medal match due to a left shoulder injury. The Serbian tennis player was set to play alongside Nina Stojanovic in a game against Australia's Ashleigh Barty and John Peers.
"I do have a regret for not winning a medal for my country. Opportunities missed both in doubles and singles,"
said Djokovic.
"I didn't deliver yesterday and today, the level of tennis dropped, also due to exhaustion, mentally and physically.
"But I don't regret coming to the Olympics at all. I believe there is no coincidence in life, everything happens for a reason, and I had some heartbreaking losses at Olympic Games and some big tournaments in my career, and 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 Paris Olympic Games, I will fight for my country to win medals and I'm sorry that I disappointed a lot of sports fans in my country, but that's sport.
"I gave it my all, whatever I had left in the tank, which was not so much. I felt it out on the court. The consequences physically hopefully will not create a problem for me for US Open. That's something that I'm not sure about right now.
"But I'm not regretting giving it all because, when you play for your country, that's necessary."
This was the third time Djokovic played for bronze at the Olympics. The Serbian defeated James Blake in Beijing but lost to Juan Martin Del Potro in London.
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