Carreno Busta stuns Djokovic to deliver bronze for Spain
Pablo Carreno Busta recorded his first-career victory over Novak Djokovic in a completed match to deliver the men’s singles bronze medal for Spain and continue his nation’s exemplary medal-winning record in Olympic Tennis.
While Djokovic appeared worn down by both the Tokyo heat and the emotional and physical toll of semi-final defeats in both singles and mixed doubles on Friday - and cut an increasingly frustrated figure - the Spaniard was exceptional in a 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 triumph.
His win marked Spain's first singles medal since Rafael Nadal won gold at Beijing 2008, and extended the nation's run of collecting tennis medals at every Olympics (except London 2012) since the sport returned to the Games in 1988.
"This is even more incredible than winning a tournament," beamed Carreno Busta. "I won Davis Cup, and I’ve gone far in other tournaments, but winning an Olympic medal is indescribable.
"I’ve felt the support from Spain, my family and people around me, and have received fond messages from those who saw me lose yesterday. I want to share this medal with all of them."
For all Carreno Busta’s joy – he dropped to the floor and wiped tears from his eyes at the end after a fantastic performance - it meant for a crushing end to Djokovic’s singles dream at Tokyo 2020.
An Olympic singles campaign that had promised so much for the reigning Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion ended, surprisingly, without his presence on the podium - and in irritable fashion.
Carreno Busta edged the opening set with a solitary break and brought up a match point at 6-5 in the second set tie-break when Djokovic dragged a backhand into the tramlines. The chance came and went. Djokovic thumped a first serve out wide and promptly won the next two points.
Just when it seemed the world No. 1 had momentum on his side, he lost both his focus and his cool.
He lobbed his racket high into the empty stands after being out-rallied during a lengthy exchange in the opening game of the third set - avoiding a point-penalty for the action - and later smashed his racket into the Olympic rings on the net, which did merit a warning, as Carreno Busta pulled ahead for 3-0. It was a moment rather symbolic of his frustrations at the Games over the years.
Djokovic still maintained hope of a turnaround when he saved a second match point at 3-5 in the third set, drilling a backhand down the line to bring up deuce. He saved a third match point when the Spaniard misfired wide, followed by a fourth and fifth when he blazed two unreturnable groundstrokes, but any chance of delivering another singles bronze for his nation evaporated when the Serb failed to find a response to Carreno Busta's pressure on the sixth.
It wasn't how things were supposed to go at these Olympics for the 20-time Grand Slam champion, for whom a gold medal is the only real omission from his substantial trophy collection. Djokovic later insisted he didn't regret competing for gold on two fronts in Tokyo. In fact, the back-to-back defeats to Alexander Zverev and Pablo Carreno Busta would fuel him to greater heights.
“I’ve had some heart-breaking losses at the Olympic Games and some big tournaments in my career," acknowledged Djokovic. "I know that those losses have usually made me stronger in every aspect. I know that I will bounce back.
“I will try to keep going for the Paris Olympic Games. I will fight for my country to win medals. I’m sorry that I disappointed a lot of sports fans in my country, but that’s sport. I gave it [my] all, whatever I had left in the tank, which was not so much, I left it out on the court.”