Olympia 2020: Final! Alexander Zverev beats Novak Djokovic - "Golden Slam" burst
Alexander Zverev is still missing a victory for the Olympic single gold medal in Tokyo. The German sensationally defeated world number one Novak Djokovic with 1: 6, 6: 3 and 6: 1 and plays in the final against Karen Khachanov . For Djokovic, the dream of the "Golden Slam" has burst.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jul 30, 2021, 11:58 am
Here you can read the match in the live ticker.
94 percent humidity was measured in Tokyo on Friday, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev suffered from the conditions even more than in the past few days. Above all, the German is not known as a player who constantly takes up the towel, but in the second semi-final game of the men's tournament of the Olympic Games, Zverev also had to dry his hands and rackets from time to time. In the end, however, all efforts paid off: Because Zverev won the ninth duel with Djokovic for the third time, moving into the final against Karen Khachanov with a 1: 6, 6: 3 and 6: 1. And destroyed Novak Djokovic's dream of the "Golden Slam" - winning all four majors and the Olympic gold medal in singles within one calendar year.
After a balanced start, the first round quickly went to the favorites, even if Djokovic only hit one winner more than Zverev in the course of the set, and the number of unforced errors was almost equal. In the second act, Djokovic presented with a break to 3-2, it looked like a preliminary decision. Zverev, however, came back immediately and took the premium from the industry leader to zero. The German number one took the momentum with them, followed up with the next break to make it 5: 3. Zverev played more offensively in this phase, Djokovic looked slightly battered. Zverev's first set ball was fended off by Djokovic with a brilliant backhand ball, against the second the man was unable to do anything for Belgrade either: set equalization after 83 minutes of playing time.
Zverev with an early break in the third set
Then Djokovic disappeared briefly in the changing room, Zverev changed his clothes on the court - including the socks. The German started the decisive set with a break, Djokovic could not use his chances to equalize immediately. Zverev used the momentum, made 3-0 with the next break. Djokovic no longer had a comeback - after 2:03 hours of play, Zverev ended the match. And the dream of the second golden slam in tennis history.
In the first semifinals, Karen Khachanov held up surprisingly smoothly 6: 3 and 6: 3 against Pablo Carreno Busta. The Spaniard eliminated Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, but was ultimately powerless against Khachanov's powerful game.