Novak Djokovic’s attempt to win tennis’ Golden Slam ended Friday at the Tokyo Olympics.
No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany stormed back to beat top seed Djokovic 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 and advance to the gold-medal match on Sunday.
In the third set, Zverev jumped to a 3-0 lead as he broke the Serbian legend’s serve twice. Zverev, 24, also saved four break points of his own.
Zverev had lost five straight matches against Djokovic since defeating him at the season-ending finals in London in November 2018.
In the gold-medal round, Zverev will face No. 12 seed Karen Khachanov, who ousted Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3. Khachanov represents Russia Olympic Committee.
Having won the 2021 Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, Djokovic needed a gold medal and a win at the U.S. Open to claim the rare Golden Slam. Only Steffi Graf of Germany has done it, winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Djokovic and Carreno Busta will play for the bronze medal on Saturday.
–Field Level Media