Disappointing Djokovic knocked out of tennis Masters

SHANGHAI—World number three Novak Djokovic slumped out of the Masters Cup after his second consecutive defeat on Tuesday, spelling a disappointing end to his breakthrough season.
The 20-year-old went down 6-4, 6-2 to Frenchman Richard Gasquet in a flat display which rules him out of finishing among the top two in the Gold Group round robin.
“Considering the results I had this year, people expected me to do well here in Shanghai. I was one of the favourites for the title,” Djokovic said.
“Obviously I probably burned out a little bit and had too much pressure on me.”
Djokovic, who also lost in straight sets to David Ferrer, was tipped as a main contender for the 4.45-million-dollar year-end tournament featuring the world’s top eight players.
But in a must-win match, the subdued Serb got off to a slow start and was a double break down before showing signs of life, breaking back but still losing the set, 6-4.
Gasquet’s backhand continued to trouble the Serb and he was broken for 2-1 in the second before immediately returning the favour, drilling a winner down the line.
However Djokovic was struggling on serve and he threw his racquet to the floor in disgust as he went 0-40 down in the next game, netting a low backhand volley to fall behind again.The game was up for the lacklustre Serb, and Gasquet, ranked eighth, capitalised by breaking again before serving out the match in one hour and 25 minutes.
“Today I had nothing to lose against Novak because he’s number three in the world. I just had to enjoy the moment to play in the Masters Cup and just to play my game,” said Gasquet.
“I had a perfect match. I played a lot of amazing shots with my backhand and everything, so it was a really good match for me.”
The result is the second upset at the Masters Cup after top-ranked Roger Federer’s shock loss to Fernando Gonzalez on Monday. The game was up for the lacklustre Serb, and Gasquet, ranked eighth, capitalised by breaking again before serving out the match in one hour and 25 minutes.
Djokovic had won both his previous matches against Gasquet, including this year’s final in Estoril. The young Serb is coming off a barn-storming year with five tournament wins and his first Grand Slam final, reaching the number three ranking in July.
Gasquet has also enjoyed his best season so far, winning his fifth career title in Mumbai in one of three finals appearances. The 21-year-old Frenchman can still reach the semi-finals after his three-sets loss to world number two Rafael Nadal, who was playing David Ferrer in Tuesday’s later match.—Agencies