Andrey Rublev wins Serbia Title after beating 'Out of Gas' Djokovic
Russia’s
Andrey Rublev beat the world number one Novak Djokovic in the final of Serbia
Open 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-0 and won the title to his name on Sunday.
The world
number one admitted that he “ran out of gas” in a three sets defeat to Rublev
in the final of the Serbia Open.
Djokovic
will enter the French Open in the coming month to defend his title and probably
he was looking to get back his winning momentum by winning the first title of
this year but unfortunately he was denied by the second seed Rublev who played
brilliantly on Sunday.
Djokovic could
not have a dream star after he dropped serve twice, to lose the first set after
half an hour.
Bouyed by the support of the 8,000 crowd, Djokovic fought back in a
marathon second set which lasted just over an hour, levelling in the tie-break
despite wasting six set points, before running out of steam in the third.
Initially
Djokovic was deported from Melbourne and not allowed to participate in the Australian
Open after he entered the country unvaccinated. So, the Belgrade event was only
is third this year.
Dojokovic
remains upbeat for his bid to capture a third French Open crown, doen’t matter
if he lost the Serbia title due to lack of his physical form.
"Things
are progressing slowly but surely, Paris is the big goal and hopefully by Paris
I'll be ready," said the two-time Serbia Open winner.
The 34-year-old, who lost in the quarter-finals in Dubai and suffered a
shock second-round defeat in Monte Carlo, battled past Laslo Djere, Miomir
Kecmanovic and Karen Khachanov in three sets before the court time caught up
with the top seed against Rublev.
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"I have to look at the positives, playing the final in front of my
home crowd, it was unfortunate that in the third set I ran out of gas and
couldn't deliver more of a fight," said Djokovic.
"After four three-set battles I can say that I am tired but also
pleased that I managed to win the matches prior to this one.
"I think that will serve me for the continuation of the clay court
season."
Rublev captured his third title of the season, days after blasting
Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian players as "complete
discrimination".
Wimbledon banned all Russian and Belarusian players from this summer's
Grand Slam tournament due to the invasion of Ukraine.
It was a decision condemned by the ATP and WTA as well as a host of
players including Djokovic who described the sanction as "crazy".
Rublev has now equalled Spaniard Rafael Nadal for the most tour-level
titles in 2022, having also clinched crowns in Marseille and Dubai in February.