Novak Djokovic was pushed to tears as he received a prolonged standing ovation from the Roland Garros crowd after suffering a third final defeat of his career on Court Philippe Chatrier.
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The stars were supposedly aligned for Djokovic to finally win in Paris. He ended Rafael Nadal’s reign in the quarter-finals, he overcame a stubborn Andy Murray in the semis and he was finally ready to join the elite group of men to have made the career grand slam.
But Stan Wawrinka’s four-set win over Djokovic ended the world No 1’s campaign in stunning fashion and he admits it was a tough blow to take.
Agassi ended winning RG when seems he didn’t believe he could anymore. Could be the same for Djokovic. When he’ll want this less badly maybe
— Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) June 7, 2015
“Obviously was not easy to stand there as a runner-up again, but I lost to a better player who played some courageous tennis and deserved to win,” said Djokovic, whose 28-match winning streak was halted on Sunday.
“I respect the appreciation the crowd showed me, and it was more or less the same situation like last year in closing ceremony (after losing to Nadal). This is something that definitely gives me even more motivation to come back and keep on trying.”
Djokovic has been repeatedly saying that the French Open is the top priority of the season and his desperation for the Coupe des Mousquetaires has been no secret.
But the Serb refused to blame his defeat on pressure, saying the magnitude of the occasion didn’t overwhelm him.
“There are two players who want to win this trophy, not just me. So I think people tend to create more of a story where it’s just me,” explained Djokovic.
“It feels like I’m the only player who wants to win this trophy and nobody wants to win it as much as I do. This is completely untrue. Every single player who is here, especially the top players, want to win this trophy as much as do.
“Of course the finals of a grand slam and the grand slam I never won gives a special importance to my approach to the match. But I thought I started well. As I got into the match, that was not a major issue in terms of dealing with the pressure. It’s just that he was better.
“At least I’m proud of the fight that I put into this match. I tried my best. It wasn’t to be.”
