Fatigue catches up with Djokovic in loss to Federer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Serb Novak Djokovic applauded Roger Federer's play while bemoaning his own fatigue after losing 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2 in the U.S. Open men's semi-final on Saturday.
The 21-year-old appeared listless early on against Federer after needing almost 10 hours to battle past his last three opponents, including a five-set win over Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the last 16 and a four-set tussle against Andy Roddick.
"Roger was playing good," third seed Djokovic told reporters after being outplayed by the four-times defending champion.
"He deserved to win, absolutely. I was just a little disappointed from my side that I wasn't able enough physically to give him a challenge.
"I think I played well that second set and it was on serve in that third one. I was just unlucky to lose that third set and then more or less routine in the fourth for him.
"Overall, it's been a very exhausting tournament mentally and physically for me so I'm happy that I got to the semi," the Australian Open champion added.
"If you finish a couple of matches at 1:00 in the morning and then you go to sleep at 4:00 and then two days afterwards you got to play at 11:00 or 12:00, it's not really the best thing. But what could I do? I had bad luck."
Djokovic, who beat Federer en route to his first grand slam title at the Australian Open in January, had lashed out at Roddick after their quarter-final, sparking jeers from the crowd.
TOOK TOLL
Although the Serb later said he overreacted to jokes made by the American about his long list of injuries, persistent questioning by fellow professionals and media appeared to take its toll.
"I just want to forget some things as soon as possible," Djokovic said. "I will always remember this tournament in the best possible way so I don't want to take the bad memories out of it. I'll just turn the page and try to do better next year."
The Serb, beaten by Federer in last year's U.S. Open final, had no complaints about the New York crowd on a humid day at Flushing Meadows.
"I think they were pretty fair," he said. "It was obvious that they are on his side because he's the ex number one and still the second best player in the world. He's defending champ here four times and people love him. He deserves that support."
Although Federer's aura of invincibility has diminished over the last year before he was finally deposed as world number one by Rafael Nadal last month, Djokovic still holds the Swiss in the highest regard.
"Roger is still there, you know," he said. "Even though people are talking about him not playing so well this year, he's still very consistent. In all the grand slams he was semis or finals, semis at minimum.
"Today he played pretty well, even though throughout this tournament he had some difficulties. But that's his strength. Whenever he needs to play well, he plays his best."
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
