Proper news from Britain - News from Britain you won’t find anywhere else. Not the tosh the big media force-feed you every day!
Novak Djokovic suffered a shock 6-3 6-4 defeat at the hands of world No. 204 Valentin Vacherot in Shanghai. The four-time former champion appeared to be struggling with a hip injury, which got worse as the first set went on.
Djokovic called the physio multiple times and looked to be on the verge of retirement as he limped around the court and fell to the ground on a couple of occasions. But he played on, and Monegasque qualifier Vacherot was able to seal the biggest win of his career to reach Sunday’s final.
Djokovic initially raised concerns as Vacherot stepped up to serve at 3-3 in the first set. The 38-year-old grimaced as he repeatedly stretched out his hip, then lost his footing and fell on the court to go 0-30 down on Vacherot’s serve.
The physio immediately ran onto the court as Vacherot held to lead 4-3. The Serbian superstar took his shirt off and pointed to his hip, while the tournament doctor raced over to Djokovic’s box and seemingly discussed medication with his team.
Djokovic received a three-minute medical timeout, lying on his towel while the physio worked on his hip. He played on, but looked very physically hampered in the next game and got broken.
The No. 4 seed continued wincing and hobbling around the court as Vacherot closed out the first set 6-3 in just over 40 minutes. Djokovic called the physio again and received more treatment during the changeover, and Sky Sports commentator Colin Fleming speculated whether he was seriously injured.
“He doesn’t look hampered, he looked injured to me. At the end of that set, he wasn’t in a physical condition to be able to compete, so I think the first game of the second set will tell us a lot about Djokovic’s chances,” Fleming remarked.
The first game was a brutal one. Djokovic limped around the court as he attempted to fend off the dangerous qualifier, and dropped to the ground in pain as he saved a second break point.
Somehow, Djokovic survived the 12-minute service game and immediately dunked his head into ice water as Fleming commended him as a “warrior”. He continued to struggle, however, and the physio returned as Djokovic sat down with a 2-1 lead in the second set.
The 38-year-old showed more improvements as the second set went on, but couldn’t capitalise on any small openings on Vacherot’s serve. At 4-4, things started to unravel, and Djokovic hit back-to-back double faults to go 0-30 down.
He won one of the best points of the tournament, going on the stretch before Vacherot sent the ball into the net to end a 28-shot rally, and touched his ear in delight to spur on the crowd.
But the qualifier continued to press and had a break point, as Djokovic accepted a time violation to give himself a few extra seconds to prepare. It didn’t help, however, and another double fault handed Vacherot the break, allowing the world No. 204 to serve for a place in the championship match. Djokovic sarcastically clapped and called over to his box at the changeover, but time was running out.
There were still more twists in the tale as Vacherot was made to save a break point, the nerves kicking in as the 26-year-old tried to close out the win of his life. Then, Djokovic saved a match point.
But Vacherot did it, firing down a massive serve that Djokovic couldn’t get back into play, reaching the biggest final of his career. It was a muted celebration from the qualifier, who knew Djokovic was physically hampered, but the Serb showed his class as they shook hands at the net.
Vacherot sat on his bench, laughing in disbelief before applauding Djokovic off the court. Then, he wrote: “Aggies on top! Allez Arthur!” The fairytale could get even better, as Vacherot’s cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, is also through to the semi-finals. It could well be a family affair in Sunday’s final if Rinderknech beats Daniil Medvedev.