Novak Djokovic in action (image via Blic Sports)
Following his sixth loss of 2015 at the O2 Area against Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic was despondent during his after match press conference.
It was the third time this year that the Serbian has been blown away in straight sets by the 17-time Grand Slam champion. The third loss is however a massive blow for Djokovic with his 23-match winning streak coming to a disappointing end. Reflecting back on his match he admitted that he was nowhere near to his best.
“You have those days as well when you are not feeling your best, not even close to the best”. Djokovic said in his press conference.
“Credit to Roger for mixing up the pace, giving me always a different ball. He used the slice and spin very wisely. He served very efficiently. I made a lot of, lot of unforced errors. Just handed him the win, especially in the second set”.
The decision by Federer to create variation in the match lead to the successful outcome, however, he was not overly keen on playing in that kind of style. During his on court interview, Federer admitted that it is not the way which he would of liked to play, however he had to in order to grab the win and secure a place into the last four at this year’s tournament.
Reflecting on the explanation for his surprise loss at the O2 Arena, the Serbian acknowledged that he was moving poorly, but failed to give an explanation as to why his movement was below his usual high standard. Instead, he has said that it is just one of those days.
“It’s because overall I just wasn’t moving well, especially on the first shot in the rallies. When I lost that game 2-3, second set, I had I think three-out-of-five points an easy backhand and forehand. Even when I was hitting, there was no angle”. The top seed recounted.
The world No.1 produced an uncharacteristic 22 unforced errors compared to just 12 winners, a poor statistic which is rarely associated with the Serbian. Despite the loss, Djokovic didn’t just attribute the loss to just his poor play, he also praised Federer’s approach.
“He tactically played well. Undoubtedly, he was the better player on the court”. Djokovic said about Federer.
During his sensational year Djokovic became the first player in history win six Masters titles within one season as well as grabbing a trio of Grand Slam titles (French Open was the only exception).
The final match in the Stan Smith group for Djokovic will be against Tomas Berdych is what will be a must win encounter for the Serbian. If he loses, Djokovic will exit the competition and fail in his bid to become the first man is history to win the ATP Finals title four consecutive times. As his history making hangs in the balance, the world No.1 has pledged to push himself more in the final tournament of this season.
“This is the last week of the year. Obviously it’s been a long season. But I need to push myself mentally, physically, emotionally as far as I can basically in this tournament. I have another group stage match and I need to win it to get through”.
Djokovic currently has a dominating head-to-head lead over the Czech with a win-loss of 20-2.