Tokyo - Novak Djokovic arrives at the Tokyo Olympics with the goal of a Golden Slam. He will go without a medal and will need some time to recover from his poor performance in extreme conditions that are not up to expectations.
Top-ranked Djokovic lost his cool and abused his racket several times during a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta in a bronze medal match of the tennis tournament on Saturday. .
It was Djokovic's third loss in two days and came less than 24 hours after losing in the singles semifinal to Germany's Alexander Zverev. This ended his bid for the Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold in the same year.
"I gave it all, whatever I had left in the tank - which wasn't that much."
He was due to be back on the court later on Saturday for a final in Tokyo. She and Serbian teammate Nina Stojanovic will face Australian pair of Ash Barty and John Peirce for the bronze medal in mixed doubles. But Djokovic withdrew from that match citing a left shoulder injury - handing Australia the bronze medal.
Djokovic's frustration was evident in his on-court behavior as the match against Careno Busta got underway.
After saving a match point in the second-set tiebreaker, Djokovic threw his racket into the stands in five rows of seats as he could not finish a long rally in the opening game of Careno Busta's stop-volley winner. Third.
A few games later, when Careno Busta broke his serve to take control of the deciding set, Djokovic again lost his cool and slammed his racket into the net post during a change of ends. Then he picked up the entangled racket and threw it into the photographer's pit.
"It's part of, I guess, who I am," Djokovic said. "I don't like to do these things. I'm sorry to send these kind of messages but we are all human and sometimes it's hard to control our emotions."
Djokovic received a verbal warning for the net-post incident, but Careno Busta questioned the chair umpire why it was not a point penalty as it was another instance of racket abuse. However, the umpire did not warn Djokovic for the first incident.
Djokovic, who lost to Stojanovic in the mixed doubles semi-final on Friday, played a total of 16 sets in seven matches over four days.
As it has been almost an entire week at Ariack Tennis Park, heat was a major factor, with temperatures rising to 90 °F (32 °C) and the lack of moisture making it feel like 100 °F (38 °C).
Djokovic and Carreo Busta both put bags of ice on their necks during the changeover. Djokovic also grabbed a rubber tube blowing cold air and stuck it to his shirt.
Later, Belinda Bencic of Switzerland will take on Marka Vondrosova of Czech Republic in the women's singles gold medal match.
Kareno Busta will have to wait until Sunday to be awarded the bronze medal after Zverev takes on Russian player Karen Khachanov in the men's final. Of course, that was the match Djokovic came in hoping to play.
Djokovic won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon this year and needed Olympic and US Open titles to complete the Golden Slam collection.
In 1988 Steffi Graf became the only tennis player to win the Golden Slam. But Djokovic can still go after the calendar-year Grand Slam by winning the US Open - a feat no man has been able to do since Rod Laver in 1969.
The US Open will start in a month.
Djokovic said he hoped his efforts in Tokyo "won't cause (a) problem" for him at the US Open. He then added: "It's something I'm just not sure about."
Controlling his anger has been an issue in the past for Djokovic, who was disqualified from last year's US Open after inadvertently hitting a line judge in the neck during a fourth-round match against Careno Busta. had gone.
Carreo Busta reached the semi-finals of the US Open for the best result of his career in a major.
Now 11th-ranked Careno Busta has won an Olympic medal for another breakthrough moment - a moment he cherished by falling on his back next to the Olympic ring on the court, when Djokovic struck a forehand on the Spaniard's sixth match point. The net was laid.
Djokovic's only Olympic medal is bronze in singles since 2008 - his first Olympics.
Djokovic said, "I don't regret coming to the Olympics at all. Everything happens for a reason and (I) have had some heartbreaking losses at the Olympic Games and some of the big tournaments in my career. And I know those Losses have generally made me stronger."
Djokovic, 34, said he would try to "keep going" through the next Olympics in Paris in three years.
"I know I will return," he said. "I will fight to win a medal for my country."