Technically Novak Djokovic lost twice in 2015 prior to a final, as he also went down to Roger Federer during round-robin action at the World Tour Finals. In that event, of course, Djokovic bounced back to beat Federer five days later for the title.
The only time the No. 1 player in the world exited before a title match came in his very first tournament of the season.
In the quarterfinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Djokovic fell victim–as many others have–to the Ivo Karlovic serve. The 6’11” Croat delivered what in retrospect proved to be one of the most shocking upsets of the year in the form of a 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4 victory.
Karlovic fired 21 aces to get the job done and survive blustery conditions after two hours and 15 minutes of play.
“He served very well,” Djokovic assesed. “But you could expect that. I was coming into the match knowing that I will have very, very few chances (on return). But I was hoping that these conditions and the wind will kind of give me some second-serve opportunities.”
The soon-to-be Australian Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open champion smashed one racked and incurred a ball-abuse warning.
“I looked at him when he threw the racket and when he smashed the ball, so I knew that he was a little bit frustrated,” Karlovic noted. “So I was just trying to stay calm.”
But perhaps the most memorable aspect of the showdown came when Djokovic turned in an utterly bizarre service game at 3-5 in the final set. After getting broken at 3-3, the top seed pushed Karlovic to deuce in the eighth game but failed to get back on serve. In his ensuing service game, Djokovic played at warp speed while serve and volleying on every point. He somehow managed to hold before Karlovic held a love game at 5-4 to clinch victory.
During his year-ending press conference after triumphing in London, Djokovic joked, “I guess Karlovic is my nemesis. I have to talk to him before Doha next year.”
While handing out chocolate to the media, as he always does to begin and end each season, Djokovic added, “I will have to bribe Karlovic with these.”
Dr. Ivo gonna play until he’s 40
True. Would love to see that. And seems likely I mean there’s no reason for him to stop he’s in top 30 or something and with one of the biggest if not the very biggest serves in the world and most aces ever. Just incredible.