Khachanov advances to the Olympic tennis gold medal match

TOKYO (AP) Novak Djokovic lay on the shoulders of Alexander Zverevs for at least three years with his Golden Slam offer when he was comforted by a German opponent and a friend.

I told him he was the greatest of all time, Zverev said. I know he’s chasing history.

Djokovic, the highest Serb who had seemed unbeaten this year in all the major tournaments, lost to Zvereville on Friday 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament.

Djokovic tried to become the first man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic gold in the same year. He won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon this year and needed Olympic and US Open Titles to complete the Golden Slam collection.

Steffi Graf in 1988 is the only tennis player to have achieved the Golden Slam.

He won 20 Grand Slams, Zverev said. So you can’t get everything.

At the end of the day, he’s the biggest ever because he wins the most Grand Slams, he wins the most Master Series, he’s going to be the world’s longest No. 1 in the world, and I’m sure 99% that’s when all is said and done. done, Zverev said.

Zverev’s opponent in the gold medal match is Karen Khachanov. The Russian defeated the Spanish Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3.

Djokovic, who had not lost since beating Rafael Nadal in the Italian Open final 2 months ago, is playing Carreno Busta in bronze.

On a humid and cheeky evening, Djokovic made a series of atypical mistakes after a strong start when 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev began to win free points with his big service.

Djokovic was in the set and paused in the second before Zverev won the last 10 of 11 matches.

He’s gone without losses in recent months and for him it’s a big loss … just collapsing eventually, said Marin Cilic from Croatia, who won silver in the doubles.

Cilic pointed out that the extreme heat and humidity of the Ariake tennis park throughout the tournament could have caught Djokovic.

It’s very unfortunate for him, but he’s still an amazing champion, and he still has so many years ahead to achieve many great things, Cilic said.

When Zverev hit the winner in the back on a line that Djokovic didn’t move to close it, Djokovic walked into the net where he got a warm hug from Zverev as the pair exchanged words.

Of course, I’m happy to have won, but at the end of the day, I also know how he feels, Zverev said.

Djokovics ’only Olympic medal was bronze in the singles at the 2008 Beijing Games. He can still win gold at the Tokyo Games in the mixed pair.

Djokovic returned to the field after just over an hour to play with Serbian partner Nina Stojanovic in the mixed doubles semifinals against the Russian duo Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev.

It is the third consecutive day that Djokovic has played two matches.

Serbian Olympic team coach Viktor Troicki told the Associated Press on Thursday that the entire team was opposed to Djokovic playing mixed doubles because they didn’t want the event to tire him so much on the line in doubles.

Djokovic can still go after the calendar year’s Grand Slam by winning the US Open, which no one has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969.

The 34-year-old Djokovic is already the first man since Laver of the year to win the first three major tournaments of the season.

Djokovic has also already matched his longtime rivals Roger Federer and Nadal by winning Wimbledon this month for his 20th Grand Slam title. He was the only one of the three largest members on his way to Tokyo, and Djokovic has been soaked in the Olympic experience like a few other athletes.

Without Djokovic, the gold medal in the solo championships lacks stellar power. Zverevs ’best career result was reaching the finals of the US Open in recent years, while Khachanov, in 25th place, appears in Wimbledon in the quarterfinals and is now in the biggest final of his career.

Zverev called it perhaps the most proud moment of my career to date.

Because I don’t just play for myself, I don’t just play for my parents, my brother, my family, he added. But I also play for everyone, all (German) athletes here back at the base and all back at home watching.

In the men’s singles, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic’s top seed pair defeated Cilic and Ivan Dodig 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 in the Croatian final. It was Croatia’s first gold and first silver in Olympic tennis, having previously won three bronzes.

New Zealand team Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus took bronze by beating US Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Daniel and Venus became the first New Zealand players to win a medal in tennis since 1912, when Anthony Wilding took bronze in singles representing Australia. Wilding, New Zealand’s only Grand Slam champion with six titles, was killed during World War I in 1915 at the age of 31.

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Associated Press reporter Syd Fryer contributed to this report.

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More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Andrew Dampf is at https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf

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