Serbia’s World No. 1 Djokovic insists he is getting better with every match after cruising into semi-finals with 6-2, 6-0 win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates his win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori yesterday. Pic/AFP
Novak Djokovic said he is getting better and better after easing into the Tokyo Olympics men’s tennis semi-finals on Thursday with a straight-sets thrashing of Japanese hope Kei Nishikori.
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The World No. 1, chasing a calendar Golden Grand Slam, ended home interest in the tennis with a ruthless 6-2, 6-0 victory in only 70 minutes.
Djokovic, 34, has never won the Olympic singles title, with a bronze medal in 2008 his best result at the Games, but will face Alexander Zverev in the Last four.
“I’m very happy, my best performance in the tournament,” said the top seed. “Matches are not getting easier, but my level of tennis is getting better and better. I’ve done that many, many times in my career. I know that I’m [the] kind of player that the further the tournament goes, the better I’m feeling on the court.”
The Serb, who has already captured the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this season, was never in trouble against Nishikori, who made 16 unforced errors.
The former World No. 4 did save two match points in the final game, but Djokovic made no mistake on the next opportunity. The quarter-final was played in cooler conditions than earlier in the tournament after Djokovic lobbied organisers to change the schedule, moving the day’s start time from 11am local time to 3pm.
“It was fantastic. Playing after five [pm] is completely different,” said Djokovic.
“Obviously, there is a little bit of a breeze, but still very, very humid, you sweat a lot, but you don’t have the heat, you don’t have the sun that, in combination with the humidity, is just brutal.”
Meanwhile, World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev was knocked out by Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals. Russian Medvedev, who was hoping to meet Djokovic in the final, paid for an error-strewn display with a 2-6, 6-7 loss.
Fognini sorry for homophobic slur
Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini has apologised for yelling at himself with a homophobic slur during a loss in the Olympic tennis event. Fognini used the offensive Italian word repeatedly during the three-set loss to Russian player Daniil Medvedev in the third round on Wednesday. Fognini Instagrammed on Thursday that the extremely hot conditions “affected his head” and that he used a really stupid expression toward himself. “Obviously I didn’t want to offend anyone’s feelings,” Fognini said. “I love the LGBT community and I apologise for the nonsense that I let out.”
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