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‘I didn’t feel fatigue. I could have gone for another few hours’ – Novak Djokovic after Rome final


Novak Djokovic has dismissed questions over tiredness being a factor in his Italian Open final defeat to Rafael Nadal on Sunday.

The world No. 1 spent four hours and 56 minutes on court to overcome Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lorenzo Sonego in the quarter-finals and semi-finals on Saturday.

“Not at all. I did not feel any fatigue. He [Nadal] managed to break my serve and played better, that’s it. As I said, [until] the last shot it was quite close,” the 33-year-old said in his post-match press conference.

“I had my shot to win it, but [it] wasn’t meant to be. I didn’t feel fatigue. Actually, I was very happy with the way I felt on the court. I could have gone for another few hours.”

The Serbian also reflected that he has a lot of positives to take away from the final, as well as his battling win against Tsitsipas.

Djokovic recovered from a break down in both the second and third sets to edge past the Greek 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

“Mentally it means a lot to overcome a huge obstacle against Tsitsipas. I was a set and a break down. He was serving for the match,” he added.

“He had everything to finish that match, like probably Shapovalov had everything to finish the match against Rafa. We both dug ourselves out of quite a big hole and managed to reach [the] final.

“He [Nadal] was just [the] better player in the decisive moments, and he took the victory away from me, but [it] was very close. I have a lot of positives to take away from today.”

(Photo credit Ray Giubilo)


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.