(BBC SPORT) Novak Djokovic threw one racquet and smashed another as his bid for an Olympic medal ended in defeat by Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.
The Serb, whose gold bid was ended by Alexander Zverev on Friday, lost 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in the bronze-medal match.
Djokovic then pulled out of his mixed doubles bronze-medal match with an injury to leave Tokyo empty handed.
Carreno Busta was Djokovic’s opponent last year when the Serb was defaulted for hitting a line judge with a ball. The Spaniard fell to the court in joy when he sealed victory on his sixth match point.
Zverev takes on Russian Karen Khachanov for singles gold on Sunday. In the women’s singles final later on Saturday, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic faces Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina won the bronze medal after coming from behind to beat Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
Djokovic loses cool as medal chances slip by
Djokovic had arrived at the Games seeking to become the first man to win a ‘Golden Slam’ – Olympic gold plus all four Grand Slams. He had already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon this year and will still have the opportunity to complete a rare calendar Grand Slam at the US Open, which starts at the end of August. But these Games, where big rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were not playing, represented his best chance of the ‘Golden Slam’ with his next opportunity now not until 2024, when he will be 37. Djokovic saved a match point against Carreno Busta in the second set to force a decider but his frustrations boiled over early in the third when he failed to break, throwing one racquet into the empty stands and smashing another against the net post as the Spaniard held his nerve for victory. Djokovic would have had another opportunity for a medal later in the day but he withdrew from his mixed doubles bronze-medal match with a shoulder injury. He and Nina Stojanovic had been due to face Australians John Peers and Ashleigh Barty.
