Australia lost 5-7,6-4,13-11 after a gallant effort and a dramatic super tie-breaker and will now play off for a bronze against either another Russian pair in Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev,or Nina Stojanovic and Novak Djokovic of Serbia. Djokovic in particular will be smarting should he get to the final,having lost the singles semi-final to Germany’s Alexander Zverev and missing the chance to do a rare “golden slam” in 2021.
Zverev’s opponent in the gold-medal match will be Karen Khachanov. The Russian beat Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3,6-3.
Djokovic,who hadn’t lost since getting beaten by Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open final 2½ months ago,will play Carreno Busta for bronze.
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On a humid and muggy evening,Djokovic committed a series of uncharacteristic errors after a strong start as the 198-centimetre Zverev started to win free points with his big serve.
When Zverev hit a backhand winner down the line that Djokovic didn’t move for to close it out,Djokovic walked to the net where he was embraced by Zverev. Djokovic responded by resting his head on Zverev’s shoulder as the pair exchanged some words.
“I told him that he’s the greatest of all time,” Zverev said. “I know that he was chasing history,he was chasing[the] golden slam. ... We’re very close. ... So of course I’m happy that I’ve won,but in the end of the day I also know[how] he feels.
“He won 20 grand slams,” Zverev added. “So you can’t have everything.”