ATP
Djoko shock as Serb knocked out in Cincinnati
Novak Djokovic vomited on court during a gruelling second set as the three-time champion played what was likely his last match at the Cincinnati Masters on Saturday, taking a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Argentine Thiago Tirante.
The 39-yea-rold Djokovic was all but overcome by the 90 percent humidity in the American Midwest and resorted to bending over with his head in his hands after particularly gruelling shots.
The 17-minute third game of the second,was tough, with Djokovic saving four break points over nine deuces but kneeling down after many points with his towel in his hands.
He was seen by the trainer and a doctor in the second set, but after losing it , came back out for the third in what appeared to be a refreshed condition.
All went wrong in the ninth game, when Djokovic saved three break points but then missed on a drop shot to hand his opponent a fourth break chance,whichTirante took.
The South American wrapped up the job a game later.
Tirante was thrilled with his accomplishment: “This is the best win of my career. I managed the nerves of playing a legend like Novak. It was all so much pressure.”
Djokovi said he had probably played for the final time in Cincy, which he has won three times.
“It looks like I won’t be back, unfortunately to play here,” he said, confirming that the sweltering weather got the better of him.
“It was a combination of the heat and humidity, all those things,” he said. “Everything involved makes it worse.”
The Serb admitted he might have played his last match here: “It looks like I won’t be back, unfortunately to play here.
“It was a combination of the heat and humidity, all those things.. Everything involved makes it worse.”
Djokovic was making his 16th appearance Cincinnati and had won his last 10 matches.
Seventh seed Flavio Cobolli, runner-up at the French Open, defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Martin Landaluce advanced past Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to move into the third round against Tirante.
Belgian Alexander Blockx beat Argentine Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4.
In the WTA draw, Philippines sensation Alexandra Eala advanced to the third round 6-1, 3-0 on Saturday as injured Elena-Gabriela Ruse quit their match during a weather delay.
The Romanian had received treatment on her right ankle just before play was halted by a thunderstorm.
During the 90-minute delay, Ruse pulled the plug on her effort, sending ninth seed Eala through.
Eala, the emerging WTA star who captured her first WTA title in Washington this month, will next play Amanda Anisimova after the American ninth seed beat Turk Zeynep Sonmez 6-2, 6-3.
As always, world number 20 Eala was supported by a vocal crowd of compatriots, with Philippines flags displayed in abundance.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed similar support around the world — in her run to the second week of Wimbledon, her breakthrough win in Washington and at this months’ 1000 event in Toronto, where she was beaten in the fourth round by Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic.
Eala and Ruse swapped breaks in the first two games before Eala ran off six straight games to pocket the set.
They got through three more games in the second before the weather threat sent them indoors.
“I was playing well and feeling really focused,” Eala said. “I tried to stay in the zone.
“A retirement is not the way you want to end a match, I wish her a speedy recovery. Injuries are not fun.”
Roland Garros finalist Maja Chwalinska advanced 6-2, 6-2 over Spain’s Cristina Busca,with the Pole getting her first win since Paris after suffering an injury at Wimbledon and taking a month away.
Anna Kalinskaya put out Cincinnati local Caty McNally 6-3, 6-4, while Magdalena Frech defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 6-3.
Main photo:- Thiago Tirante beating Novak Djokovic