US Open: Novak Djokovic denies off-court commitments contributed to Kei Nishikori loss
Sunday 7 September 2014 09:52, UK
Novak Djokovic has denied that his growing off-court commitments contributed to his shock exit at the US Open on Saturday.
The top seed and world No 1 was dumped out at Flushing Meadows after being beaten 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 by Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals.
Since winning Wimbledon at the start of July he has gone out early at the Masters 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati and has now failed to reach the US Open final for the first time in five years.
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Some have attributed his declining form to his recent marriage and the upcoming birth of his first child, but the Serbian rubbished those suggestions.
“Of course I'm in touch with my wife. Of course I am being part of her pregnancy. But it's no different for me in terms of preparing for the match and for the tournament," Djokovic said.
"I had all my dedication, everything directed to this US Open. I tried to give my best and I did. Now, my best today was not where I wanted it to be."
Schedule
Djokovic said it was "too early" to say how his playing schedule for the rest of the year will be affected by the birth of his child, but did say that his campaign "is not over yet".
He has already qualified for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London, which take place in November, and he is also set to play in the new International Premier League in December.
But first he must regroup after the defeat to Nishikori, who seemed to handle the sweltering conditions in New York better despite coming off the back of consecutive five-set marathons.
Djokovic added: "It was not easy to play in these conditions, but also he had more hours spent on the court.
"I wasn't in the balance. I thought it was just an overall feeling. My strokes just weren't there.
"It is what it is. It's sport. I have to congratulate the better opponent and move on and try to finish off this year hopefully as close as I have last year."
