adminPARIS. — Novak Djokovic is facing the gravest crisis of his career after a shock French Open tennis defeat to Italian journeyman Marco Cecchinato left him contemplating missing Wimbledon to rebuild his game and reboot his state of mind.
The 31-year-old Serb on Tuesday slumped to an epic 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 1-6, 7-6 (13/11) quarter-final loss to world number 72 Cecchinato, a player who had never won a match at the majors before this year’s Roland Garros.
Djokovic, a former world number one and 12-time Grand Slam title winner, had previously only been beaten by a player ranked lower than 25-year-old Cecchinato at the majors on two occasions — Marat Safin at Wimbledon in 2008 when the maverick Russian was at 78 and 117th-ranked Denis Istomin at last year’s Australian Open. Tuesday’s defeat left Djokovic shell-shocked, so much so that he threatened to skip the forthcoming grasscourt season and, by extension, Wimbledon where he is a three-time champion.
“I don’t know if I’m going to play on grass – I’m just not thinking about tennis at the moment,” said Djokovic who opted to conduct his post-match media duties on Tuesday in a minor conference room, which had already been shut up for the evening, far away from the waiting cameras. — AFP.
Online Reporter