Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has given up, visibly exhausted, in the match for third place at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia.
The 38-year-old had lost the 1:16 hour long first set in the tiebreak against the American Taylor Fritz when, to the astonishment of his opponent, he ended the hard-fought game early. He then gestured to apologize to the audience.
“That was one of the longest sets I’ve ever played,” said Djokovic after the 6:7 (4:7) in the first round. The eleventh game alone lasted 16 minutes.
Djokovic still takes a big check with him from Riyadh. A total of 13.5 million dollars will be distributed, the entry fee is a rumored 1.5 million dollars. There are no world ranking points to be won, but thanks to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the winner has more prize money than at any tournament on the professional tour.
Djokovic only returned to the court in Shanghai after the US Open at the beginning of September, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals with major physical problems. Five days later, the 24-time Grand Slam champion played again in Saudi Arabia, but he had no chance in the semi-final against Jannik Sinner.