Already the first man to hold all four major trophies, Djokovic had been bidding to become the first since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete a calendar-year grand slam sweep. “I managed to win four Grand Slams in a row – in two different seasons. I’m so ecstatic right now and so happy”, he said. He made at least the semifinals at Wimbledon every year since 2010.
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There had been talk that Djokovic was not 100 percent fit, but the Serb deflected questions about his health.
Still, after play was halted Friday evening by rain – a recurring theme in this contest and the tournament as a whole – Djokovic came back out Saturday and played much better at the outset.
Last year, Djokovic dodged a similar sort of danger in the fourth round at Wimbledon when he rallied from a two-set deficit over two days to win against another tall, mild-mannered and huge-serving opponent: Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Like the forehand volley that barely reached the net on break point down when serving for the fourth set, when the court was wide open and the Querrey well behind it?
After Querrey held for 6-5, Saturday’s third rain delay arrived.
Murray had not dropped more than four games in a set across his first two matches and was not expected to be overly troubled by Millman, a 27-year-old journeyman who spent a spell working in the City while he recovered from a serious shoulder injury in 2013.
“He overpowered me”, Djokovic said.
Querrey, who beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4 7-6(5) 6-4, on reaching his first grand slam quarter-final.
Sam Querrey of the U.S, left, shakes hands with Novak Djokovic of Serbia after beating him in their men’s singles match on day six of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, on July 2, 2016.
How surprising was this result?
“Congratulations to Sam, he played a terrific match”, said Djokovic – who in revealing he would not face Great Britain in the Davis Cup later this month gave Murray another boost. He was 1-8 in nine prior meetings against Djokovic, and had never won a match against a current world No. 1 in eight previous attempts. It was the biggest win of Querrey’s career, which has spanned a decade since he turned pro in 2006.
“I think today I played the break points really well”, Querrey said. “But he wasn’t playing his best tennis, and Querrey kept the pressure on with that serve”.
Djokovic’s coach, Boris Becker, watched helplessly from the player’s box as his charge continued to struggle on Saturday after looking close to lethargic late Friday afternoon.
In the women’s side, twice champion Petra Kvitova was knocked out in the second round, losing a two-hour slugfest 7-5 7-6(5)to unseeded Ekaterina Makarova after a far longer battle against the weather. It finally came down to a tiebreaker that won the American the set and the match.
Nothing resonated, of course, like Djokovic’s defeat.
“He looked like he was hardly trying”, Laver said.
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The loss snaps Djokovic’s streak of 30 consecutive Grand Slam wins – a record on the men’s side – and ends his bid for the calendar Grand Slam, which he was halfway towards achieving. “I think with the stage that it was at, here at Wimbledon, to beat Novak, who is playing at such a high level for the past five years, I would say so”.
