25. 11. 2011. ยท
Photo: Getty Images
Nole did not make it into the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
The season Finals top-seed faced fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in their last round robin match in the O2 Arena, in London, and fell in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 in 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Both players know each others game very well because they have played a lot together.
Nole started well. He made a break in the fourth game and consolidated it without losing a point for 4-1 lead. The rest of the set went on serve and Djokovic won it 6-3.
Janko was pushed to deuce several times in the opening game of the second set that lasted more than 10 minutes, but he held to move ahead 1-0. The Serbian no.2 broke Nole in the sixth game, but the top seed fought back immediately. Novak double-faulted to hand the second break point opportunity to Tipsarevic in the eighth game, which he capitalised on and took the set 6-3.
Tipsarevic was more determined in the deciding third set. He converted his chances in the first and ninth games for 6-3 and first win at the season’s final event.
This is Janko’s first victory over Novak in their four career meetings.
After falling to world no.9, Nole needed Spaniard David Ferrer to beat Tomas Berdych in order to qualify. The Czech came back from a set and a break down to win the match, so Nole finishes third in Group A.
Djokovic will finish his historic season as the world no.1.
“I had an unbelievable year,” said Nole, who will now take a couple of weeks’ rest. “Nothing can really ruin that. I will always remember this year as the best of my life. I just want to prepare well for 2012.”
The 24-year-old Belgrade native has had an unforgettable year with a 70-6 match record and a 10-1 record in title matches, including three Grand Slam championships and five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies.
Nole became only third player (since 1990) to win 30-more ATP World Tour Masters 1000 matches in a season as he compiled a 33-1 match record.
He has a 21-4 record vs top 10 players this year, the first with twenty top 10 wins since Ivan Lendl (22) in 1985.
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Final group standings:
Group A
1. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 2-1 (5-4)
2. David Ferrer (Spain) 2-1 (5-2)
3. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 1-2 (3-5)
4. Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 1-1 (3-3)
Group B
1. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 3-0 (6-2)
2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 2-1 (5-3)
3. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 1-2 (3-5)
4. Mardy Fish (USA) 0-3 (2-6)
Semifinal 1: Roger Federer vs David Ferrer
Semifinal 2: Tomas Berdych vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
