TOKYO (AP) — Novak Djokovic came to the Tokyo Olympics aiming for a Golden Slam. He'll leave without a medal and will need some time to recover from a draining performance in extreme conditions that didn't meet expectations.
The top-ranked Djokovic lost his cool and abused his racket several times during a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain in the bronze-medal match of the tennis tournament on Saturday.
It was Djokovic's third defeat in two days and it came less than 24 hours after he was beaten by Alexander Zverev of Germany in the singles semifinals. That ended his bid for a Golden Slam, which is winning all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold in the same year.
"I just didn't deliver yesterday and today. The level of tennis dropped. Also due to exhaustion — mentally and physically," Djokovic said. "I gave it all, whatever I had left in the tank, which was not so much."
Djokovic's frustration was evident in his on-court behavior as the match wore on.