Novak Djokovic probably imagined it differently. After his triumph at the ATP Finals in Turin, the 36-year-old traveled to the Davis Cup final tournament in Malaga to win their second title with Serbia after 2010. But nothing came of it as the Serbian team had to admit defeat to Italy 1-2 in the semi-finals. The big loser was Djokovic: After Miomir Kecmanovic had put the Serbs in the lead with a three-set win over Lorenzo Musetti, Djokovic missed three match points in a 2:6, 6:2, 5:7 win against Jannik Sinner and what was believed to be a certain place in the final. In the all-important doubles, Djokovic/Kecmanovic had to admit defeat to the duo Sinner/Lorenzo Sonego 3:6, 4:6. The Italians will face Australia in the final on Sunday.
Djokovic had already caused negative headlines on Thursday. As has only now become known, he and the Serbian team had refused a doping test before the quarter-final duel against Great Britain (2-0 win). The unannounced check should have taken place an hour and a half before the duel against the British – this angered the “Djoker”: “It doesn’t make sense if I’m also checked afterwards,” complained the superstar, who followed suit like the team provided blood and urine samples during the game.
Djokovic: “That’s outrageous!”
At a press conference, Djokovic said in Serbian that he had argued with the person in charge of the control. He would have argued that the players should have had a rest after the match and that the test was therefore scheduled before the game. “This has never happened to me in 20 years. He sat in one of the corners and followed me for hours. This is outrageous. I have always defended doping controls, but not before matches. I have nothing to hide, but there have to be boundaries.”
2023-11-25 19:11:00
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