Novak Djokovic, 12 times Grand Slam winner and the defending champion at the 2017 french open failed to secure a spot in the next round. After being rescheduled due to rain delays, yesterday's matches resumed earlier today with Djokovic facing Dominic Thiem for a slot in the semis knowing that the winner of this one will face Rafael Nadal in the next round. In the end, the young Austrian put his hands on the victory by simply outplaying Djokovic in straight sets. A tremendous win for the young tennis star, while for Djokovic is just another miserable day on the tennis court.
Today's defeat will also throw the Serb off the second spot in the ranking.
The match had two distinct parts
Entering the match against Thiem, Novak had the upper hand. Two weeks ago they met in Rome's semis where he dismantled the Austrian in straight sets 6-0 6-1. But a Grand Slam tends to provide some extra thrills. The opening set saw Djokovic in charge with Thiem struggling to keep his odds intact. Saving several set points was all that the young Austrian needed to infiltrate under Serb's skin. They went into a tie-break where Djokovic started to mount one unforced error after another basically handing the set away. That tie-break turned out to be the key point of the match. The next set put Thiem in control with Djokovic melting down point by point.
The sixth seed took the second act by 6-3. The third act brought in no miraculous turn around as Thiem gave a harsh medicine to his opponent clinching the act by 6-0. For him, Rafael Nadal will ask the next question while Djokovic must answer to a huge load of questions by himself. At 30 years of age, he seems to have lost any sense of purpose when it comes to tennis.
Djokovic seems a fragile player
During the whole match against Dominic Thiem, the Serb champion seemed completely off. Whether it was about his balance, shot-making or precision while trying to hit a decisive point, Djokovic did way too many mistakes. On the other side, Thiem kept his composure capitalising on Djokovic's lack of pace and precision.
The season is almost half done and the Serb is yet to produce something special in 2017. Having won a small title back in January gives little comfort to a guy with high goals and expectations. He will shift to the grass season where the burden of points will disappear. Maybe with Andre Agassi on his corner, he will manage to steer in the right direction.Today's performance was nothing more than Djokovic reaching the rock bottom with some of his poorest game as the headline.
