World Tour Finals - Djokovic joins winless Nadal at exit

Eurosport - Fri, 27 Nov 16:32:00 2009

World number three Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the World Tour Finals despite finishing with a 7-6(5) 6-3 defeat of Rafael Nadal.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal shake hands after their match at the World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena - 0

Despite finishing the round-robin stage of the tournament with two wins and one loss, Djokovic crashed out after Nikolay Davydenko beat the already-qualified Robin Soderling 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3; Djokovic's straight sets defeat at the hands of Soderling meaning that the Serb had one less set in his win colomn that Davydenko.

Seventh seed Davydenko will now face world number one Roger Federer (the winner of Group A) in the first of the semi-finals on Saturday while Soderling will face Juan Martin Del Potro in the second semi.

"I think in Masters Cup, in World Tour Finals, (the round-robin system) it's actually good," said Djokovic before discovering his fate.

"In my situation maybe not now, because my destiny does not depend on myself but that's the way it is.

"Maybe the fact that every set counts and every game counts puts a little bit more pressure on you."

Meanwhile the loss to Djokovic consigned Nadal to his third straight defeat of the tournament, meaning the Spaniard leaves London without even a set to his name.

"It's not very disappointing, no," Nadal said.

"It's only disappointing if you arrive here with the feeling that you have a big chance to win. But I didn't arrive here with that feeling.

"Every day I tried my best but the batteries sometimes finish and you have to buy another one. That's what I'm going to do for next year. Recharge and practise hard.

"Only by practising hard can you get back to your best level. That's what I did all my life. When you feel better physically, you can play more aggressive."

The match got off to a slow start with both players looking lethargic and struggling to find any kind of rhythm, particularly on their serve.

Nadal, who will lose his number two ranking should Djokovic go on to win the tournament, quickly dropped his opening service game of the match, dumping a cross court forehand into the net.

Although the Spaniard broke back immediately, courtesy of a poor forehand error from Djokovic, the Serb got back in front once again when Nadal double faulted to end his second service game.

Nadal's battling instinct helped him to break back in the eighth game, when Djokovic hit a backhand into the net, and this time the Spaniard held on long enough to force the first set tie-break.

But a series of tame ground-stroke errors from the Nadal gave Djokovic the early advantage and, although the Serb squandered three set points with mistakes of his own, a looping cross court forehand into the tramlines from the Spaniard conceded the first set.

The first few games of the second set went with serve but the world number two received a medical timeout for treatment to his lower back at 2-1 and promptly dropped his serve in the next game by dumping a forehand into the net.

From there Djokovic had little trouble maintaining his lead and a series of straightforward service holds left him just one game away from the win.

Nadal offered some resistance in the final couple of games, denying Djokovic on his first two match points and even earning himself a break point when the Serb hit wide.

But Djokovic quickly recovered with a backhand winner down the line before sealing the match when Nadal hit a backhand wide.

Nadal now has just one week before being in action once again when Spain take on Czech Republic in the Davis Cup final in Barcelona.

Pippa Davis / Eurosport

Comment 55 - 74 of 74

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  1. I can't bear to look at this photo - Nadal looks so­ down - sort of embarrassed. I really hope he's got­ a good woman to sort him out and help him feel better.­ What a little sweetie he is.

    From wendy, on Sat 28 Nov 9:17PM

  2. "Rafa has won on hardcourts - but check his­ results - he­ has NEVER won indoors"
    From Mark S,­ o

    Nadal won the Madrid Masters in 2005. It was played­ on hardcourt indoors. He came back from 2 sets down to­ win 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3)

    From Kathleen M, on Sat 28 Nov 5:39PM

  3. TOUGH TIMES DONT LAST RAFA, ONLY TOUGH PEOPLE DOES. BY­ THE TIME IT ALL BEGINS AGAIN NEXT YEAR I WISH ALL THE­ WORRIES ARE GONE AND WE CAN HAVE QUALITY AND­ COMPETITIVE TENNIS ONES MORE.
    VAMOS RAFA

    From olawale, on Sat 28 Nov 4:02PM

  4. Lucky Federer! Djokovic, the player who could beat him­ is out . It's likely He will make the final. He
    may­ be lucky again if he won't meet Delpotro in the­ final. Federer has been lucky since the French
    open. Of­ course he is really good, no doubt about that but there­ are some young players that know
    how to beat him. We­ will see if he will be lucky again, hoping Delpotro­ will lose to Nadal's conqueror.

    From EDDIE, on Sat 28 Nov 2:18PM

  5. Oh how 2 faced you Serbs are. When Murray was dumped­­ out he deserved it. When your quitter Nole gets dumped­­ it's unfair? BOTH players beat the people that­ took­ their places didn't they?
    At the end of the­ day,­ the round robin system IS fair. Murray was dumped­ out­ on number of games won while Novak's was­ simpler in­ terms of sets. All clear cut and fair. Now,­ GET OVER­ IT!
    P.S. Shame about all the points Novak is­ losing­ now.

    From stantheman711, on Sat 28 Nov 1:39PM

  6. Wasn't this obvious? My confidence in Davy getting­ the job done due to Soderling under no pressure yet­ again reiterates my knowledge above the rest. Keep­ 'em coming guys.

    From peri, on Sat 28 Nov 1:22PM

  7. i remember when anna ivanovic started falling from­ grace and everyone said she was going tu do a come back­ and now it seems unlikely, anyhue having said that rafa­ is in a different league, im a federer fan personally­ but im praying rafa gets his confidence back and comes­ back tu his old self, he spices up the tournament. and­ without stiff competition the tournament becomes­ boring, something that is slowely creeping into the­ womens game. this tournament has been anything but­ boring, even verdasco whu didnt win a single match­ contributed heavily to the outcome of the semis!!! good­ luck rafa!!

    From evasmasam, on Sat 28 Nov 1:14PM

  8. "Rafa had the worst record of all 8 players for­ this­ tourney and has shown the world just how far he­ has­ fallen from grace. In Rafa we no longer­ trust."
    From Cameron D,

    Djokovic has the worst­ record of all. He lost all three RR's in 2007. He­ won a total of 22 games, losing to Ferrer, Gaquet and­ Nadal. In London Rafa won 24 games, on his worst­ surface, in his worst form and he lost to the inform­ players on hardcourts.
    I for one continue to trust and­ support Rafa. He will be back!!

    From Kathleen M, on Sat 28 Nov 12:30PM

  9. Bad luck for Djokovic.

    From Tham, on Sat 28 Nov 11:15AM

  10. @ajpbolton

    Awwwwwwwwwwwww... :0
    U're trying to­ provoke :*
    So cute ;)

    From Vladimir, on Sat 28 Nov 10:16AM

  11. Rafa must feel like @#$% not even taking a set. But he­ obviously knows what he's got to do.

    So now Djoko­ is in the same boat as Murray - bummer to be pipped to­ post even though you won 2 out of 3.

    Poor Verdasco­ played a blinding tournament - cant believe he was so­ close to beating Federer. Bet he feels the worst.

    From wendy, on Sat 28 Nov 9:50AM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    at least i can watch the final without that cheat baing­ in it, i'm happy!!

    From anthony, on Sat 28 Nov 9:38AM

  13. North West,
    well, he won't :-)

    From x. y, on Sat 28 Nov 8:54AM

  14. As a fed fan i am concerned that Del P will eventualy­ take over the number 1 spot. He needs to work on his­ consistancy, but he has the focus and the mind set of a­ champ.He´s bloody cool. As much as

    From sjhill96, on Sat 28 Nov 8:52AM

  15. Vítor, you are wrong.
    Your guy, Djoko did history 2­ years ago!!! He did not win a set!
    Check iti in the­ tennis archive!

    From x. y, on Sat 28 Nov 8:47AM

  16. Djoker, Rafa, Andy out... Who could have predicted it??

    From Denis P, on Sat 28 Nov 8:31AM

  17. WARNING !!!!! Im 100% sure Rafa Nadal will come back­­ much stronger next year. He might be losing matches­ now­ but keep in mind that this is Rafa Nadal we are­ talking­ about and when he comes back he will be more­ determined­ than ever!!!!! The results from this year­ will even­ make him more hungry and when this guy gets­ hungry you­ know what time it is. So for all the­ players out there­ my advise is to beat Rafa as much as­ you can right now­ because next year you would only­ wish to win a set from­ him!!!! I just love how the­ reporters write @#$% about­ him and don't believe­ in him so much. The moment­ they write him off will be­ the moment he will step up. ­ BE WARNED!!!!

    From Flavor, on Sat 28 Nov 5:48AM

  18. what has happened to Rafa?. He couldn't ven bag a­ set. Thus is awful. I love =him so much and these­ losses are breaking my heart. I hope that he can make a­ good comeback next year. Vamos Rafa! I love him to­ bits.

    From D, on Sat 28 Nov 4:35AM

  19. Fake webbski, I am honoured to have you as a fan of­ mine. It is humbling that you wait for my insightful­ comments, and then write some counter-webbski comments,­ as if they were from the true webbski. Keep it up.

    From webbski, on Sat 28 Nov 12:55AM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Rafa had the worst record of all 8 players for this­ tourney and has shown the world just how far he has­ fallen from grace. In Rafa we no longer trust.

    From Cameron D, on Sat 28 Nov 12:52AM
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