ALEXANDER Zverev has denied Novak Djokovic the chance at a rare Golden Slam – four Grand Slams and an Olympic Gold Medal in a calendar year – after coming from behind to defeat the world number one in yesterday’s men’s singles semi-final. Zverev toppled Djokovic 1-6 6-3 6-1 to advance through to the Gold Medal Final against Russian Karen Khachanov, who knocked off sixth seed Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.

The German’s upset came as a surprise as Djokovic dominated the opening set to race to a 6-1 lead in just 37 minutes. In that set, Djokovic won 21 of 34 points on serve, as Zverev fell to pieces, winning just seven of 15 on his own serve, broken twice and failing to convert the only time he had an opportunity. It was a different story after that, as Zverev got into gear, and the world number one uncharacteristically fell away. Djokovic won just six of 15 points on his first serve, and 10 of 23 in the second set, only hitting three winners for the entire set as Zverev smashed 12 in a complete turnaround.

The third set was even more dominant, as Djokovic won eight of 21 off his first serve, and could not convert any of the four break point chances, as Zverev broke three times from five chances. The German hit 17 winners – including five aces – to Djokovic’s four winners, and rarely had less unforced errors (3-7). For the entire match, Djokovic won just 40 per cent of his points on serve in the final two sets, capitulating under the German;’s pressure, hitting 17 winners for the match, but only seven in the last two sets. Zverev smashed 37 winners and had two less unforced errors (14-16) in a stunning performance.

“It’s an amazing feeling, knowing that you’re going to bring the medal back to your house, back home to Germany,” Zverev said post-match. “It’s incredible beating the best player in the world undoubtedly right now, and in this season. “It seemed it was impossible to beat him at this event, so I’m very happy right now. “But there’s still one match to go.”

The other semi-final saw Khachanov win in a much simpler performance, getting up in an hour and 19 minutes. The Russian served 10 aces to three, and hit a total of 26 winners to 16, whilst only committing nine unforced errors to Carreno Busta’s 15. He was unbreakable with a whopping 26 of 28 first serve points successful, and only dropping seven on serve for the match. He broke Carreno Busta three times from five chances, whilst Carreno Busta ran at 50 per cent on serve, and could not break Khachanov from his only opportunity.

“It was so important to win today because at least you know for sure that you’re guaranteed a medal, which is one of the dreams come true,” Khachanov said post-match. “But obviously, you need to find motivation and excitement, and I will try to be prepared for the final and fight for the gold.”

OLYMPIC MEN’S SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:

[4] Alexander Zverev (GER) defeated [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) 1-6 6-3 6-1
Karen Khachanov (RUS) defeated [6] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) 6-3 6-3

Picture credit: ATP Tour