Novak Djokovic might have lost his number 1 ranking today, but he is still a great champion. And he had to be, as Richard challenged him more than the result 4-6 2-6 expresses.Richard's next tournament is Shanghai, where he has no bye and will play Vasek Pospisil in the first round.
Richard started uill of confidence and converted his 2nd breakpoint to go up 3*-1. In the long game thereafter, he fendend off 5 breakpoints, but finally lost his advantage. The match was high quality and Richard really forced Djokovic to be at his best. The Serb broke in the 7th game and won the first set 6-4.
Richard did not give up, varied his game, but Djokovic had the answers. A stunning tweener from Richard and a backhand winner to win the point therafter in the fifth game of the second set will certainly make the highlights, but overall Djokovic was simply to good.
