Karatsev deprives Djokovic of the final in Belgrade

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was beaten in the semifinals of “his” tournament on Saturday in Belgrade by Russian Aslan Karatsev (28th) who dominated him in three sets, inflicting him a second disappointment after his untimely defeat in the 8th final in Monaco. He lost 5-7, 6-4, 4-6 in a match where he could not find his usual rhythm and was very nervous about his face-offs. Karatsev, who will play on Sunday his second final of the year, thus takes revenge on Djokovic who had drastically eliminated him in the semifinals of the Australian Open, a tournament which revealed the Russian to the general public.

After a good start, Djokovic was very nervous and betrayed by his service which he yielded three times to his opponent, and logically lost in the first set (7-5). The Russian appeared to be heading for a two-set victory, leading 4-2 in the second after taking the Serbian's service for a fourth time, when Djokovic finally reacted and equalized.

But "Nole", decidedly in a day without, continued to trample his tennis in the third set, wasting too many break points and missing shots at important moments.

For his part, Karatsev, motivated and concentrated, concluded after a little more than three hours of play and will challenge in the final the winner of the other semi-final between the Italian Matteo Berrettini against the Japanese Taro Daniel, a "lucky looser" from qualifications.

Djokovic thus started the season badly on clay, chaining two defeats in a row that did not put him in confidence as the Master of Rome and Roland Garros approached.

Read also

• Tennis: Novak Djokovic opposes the vaccination of players