OFF WITH HIS HEAD!
SW19 fears as Djokovic suffers painful loss
It was a painful day for shattered Novak Djokovic yesterday as he crashed out of the French Open — and then cast doubt about his chances of playing at wimbledon. with andy Murray withdrawing from a grass-court tournament in Holland next week, sw19 chiefs will fear missing two star names. Beaten 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 by world No 72 Marco Cecchinato, Djokovic had a brutal on-court neck massage as he tried to force his way back into the match. He said: ‘I don’t know if I’m going to play on grass. I don’t want to think about anything now.’ Murray admitted defeat in his efforts to return to action next week as he withdrew from the Libema Open in Rosmalen, Holland. ‘I am not quite ready,’ said the scot. ‘I am aiming to play in the coming weeks, but I want to be 100 per cent when I do return.’
Ashattered Novak djokovic cast doubt over whether he will turn up and play the grass- court season after he was humbled by journeyman Marco Cecchinato in the French Open quarter-finals.
the sicilian, ranked 72 in the world, became the first Italian man in 40 years to make the last four of a Grand slam after a pulsating 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 win over the former world No 1.
Cecchinato took an epic second tiebreak 13- 11 on his fourth match point, displaying remarkable sangfroid for a man who had never even won a match at a major before this.
djokovic marched straight off the court and into the media room where, his head still scrambled, he questioned his participation at Wimbledon. Under the circumstances his words may be taken with a pinch of salt. ‘I don’t know if I’m going to play on grass,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to think about anything now. how do I regroup? I don’t know. I’m just not thinking about tennis at the moment.
‘Marco played amazing and credit to him. Congratulations for a great performance. I struggled from the beginning. Unfortunately, it took me time to get going.
‘It is a pity that I couldn’t capitalise on the chances at 4-1 in the fourth set and some break points that I thought I had in there.’
the serb needed lengthy treatment on a neck problem after dropping the first set.
Cecchinato, 25, best known prior to this for receiving a ¤40,000 (£29,800) fine for match-fixing that was subsequently quashed, looked to have missed his chance when falling behind in the fourth set.
But djokovic, showing he is not the ruthless predator of old, let him back in and could not deliver the telling blow in the tiebreak. the serb had three set points to take it into a decider but netted at the crucial moments.
at 12- 11 Cecchinato ( right) looped a backhand return up the line which landed inside the corner, sending a rowdy Court suzanne Lenglen into ecstasy.
the match, which included code violations for illegal coaching, time-wasting and a point penalty for the Italian when he left the court without permission, left the winner somewhat bemused.
‘Maybe I’m sleeping,’ he said. ‘It’s amazing, it’s unbelievable for me to beat Novak djokovic in the quarter-final at roland Garros. I don’t understand nothing. I was so tired but I won the match. When I saw my return hit the line it was the best moment of my life.’
he now faces austrian dominic thiem, who went through when the exertions of three five- set matches caught up with alex Zverev. the German’s movement became increasingly hampered as he went down 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Zverev said: ‘how close was I to pulling out? I definitely thought about it. I knew I wasn’t going to win the match. there was no way for me. I mean, I could barely move. I couldn’t serve. I couldn’t really do anything.’
thiem, the seventh seed, has reached his third consecutive Paris semi-final,
there is guaranteed to be an american in the women’s final after sloane stephens and Madison Keys made it through to the last four and set up a rematch of the Us Open final. stephens yesterday defeated daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1 and Keys ousted Yulia Putintseva 7-6, 6-4.
Keys said: ‘I have actually been told quite often that I’ll never win or do well because I’m too nice a person and I just don’t have it. I think that’s a load of c**p, but, you know, it’s just me. I don’t think you have to be mean in order to win matches.’
serena Williams issued an upbeat message yesterday after her French Open withdrawal of tuesday, telling her social media followers that an initial meeting with a doctor about her injured pectoral muscle had gone well. ‘the news is actually super exciting so I’m really happy about that,’ she said, prior to receiving the results of an MRI scan. BRITISH No 2 and top seed heather Watson suffered a surprise defeat in the surbiton trophy when she lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to fellow Briton Gabriella taylor, ranked 104 places below her.