Wimbledon 2016: Novak Djokovic KNOCKED OUT of Wimbledon by Sam Querrey to hand major boost to Andy Murray
The American giant Querrey beat the champion Djokovic in four sets to open up the draw for British No1 Murray
AFTER 389 days and 30 Grand Slam matches, generous Novak Djokovic finally gave someone else a chance to win something.
The best player on the planet had not lost a major tie since his French Open final defeat to Stan Wawrinka in June last year. Until yesterday.
The out-of-sorts Serb was sent packing 7-6 6-1 3-6 7-6 by American Sam Querrey, a man who has never been past the last 16 of a Slam.
In a year of unforgettable sporting shocks, we should not really be surprised.
And though it may not have matched Leicester’s fairytale Premier League triumph, this was less likely than Iceland seeing off sorry England in the Euros.
Because Djokovic, who saw his dream of a fifth straight Slam dashed, has been in a different stratosphere over the last 12 months compared to the rest.
That includes Andy Murray, who surely now has the best chance he will ever have of a second SW19 title.
Match stats
DJOKOVIC - - - - - - QUERREY
7...................Aces...................31
2..............Double faults..............2
66%...........1st serves in...........63%
63/97....2nd serve pts won....79/100
73%..........Net points won.........62%
3/17.......Break points won.......4/15
35%.....Receiving points won.....38%
34.................Winners.................56
31...........Unforced errors............52
146..........Total points won..........160
But as the Scot rightly said, he must get to the final now for the Djok shock to mean anything.
Shell-shocked Djokovic was gracious as ever in defeat. The 29-year-old refused to blame an injury — despite admitting he was “not really” 100 per cent — or a host of rain delays for his exit.
And he now intends to take a well-earned rest, ruling himself out of Serbia’s Davis Cup clash with Great Britain.
Djokovic, who failed to reach the fourth round of a Slam for the first time since 2009, said: “It’s disappointing, of course. Losing at a Grand Slam hurts more than any other tournament. Congratulations to Sam, he played a terrific match. He served very well, as he usually does. He just overpowered me.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to hold four Grand Slams at the same time.
“Coming into Wimbledon, I knew that mentally it’s not going to be easy to remotivate myself.
“But the importance of this tournament is so immense that you always find ways to really get inspired and prepare and try to give your best. Obviously my best wasn’t enough this year.
“Thankfully I have a family and I have a life outside of tennis. I have plenty of things to look forward to.
“I’m going to pay more attention to those things than tennis in the next period. I need it.”
Things started badly on Friday when Djokovic was forced to wait for a Venus Williams epic to finish — and they went downhill from there. He looked uncomfortable and the warning signs were apparent when he had to overturn four set points to stay in the first set, only to lose it on a tie-break.
He slipped in the first game of the second as his form fell off a cliff, allowing Querrey to cash in with two breaks and power to a 6-1 demolition.
Djokovic looked down and out — but was rescued by the rain as play was suspended overnight.
Many fans expected 28th seed Querrey to crumble on the resumption yesterday morning. But in his 881 prior matches, Djokovic had only successfully come from two sets down on four occasions. It was a huge ask, particularly with Djokovic so off the pace and Querrey booming down ace after ace, 31 in total.
The world No 1 halved the deficit by taking the third set 6-3 but his struggles returned in the fourth when at times his frustration boiled over.
After blowing three break points in the opening game, Djokovic drew gasps from the crowd when he smashed his racket into his chair at the change-over.
But he looked to be back in business after an inspired half-volley saw him hold for 3-3, celebrating by pointing his finger to the sky as if he had just made the final and roaring at the crowd.
He then broke for 5-4, finally claiming his TWELFTH break point of the set, and a memorable comeback finally looked likely.
But, amazingly, he was broken back immediately before a third rain delay paused the drama with Querrey 6-5 up.
Djokovic took it to a tie-break on the return but his resurgence abandoned him in the shootout as one too many wayward shots sealed his fate. Querrey will now play France’s Nicolas Mahut in the last 16.
But he admitted he was not even thinking about that as he revelled in the best result of a 504-match career.
The Californian beamed: “Incredible. I played the break points really well.
“I was concerned he might come out blazing after being behind last night but I was ready for that.
“He is on his way to being the best ever. I am not even sure who I will play next. Let me enjoy this one first.”