Novak Djokovic faces an anxious wait to see whether he's made the semi-finals after losing to Janko Tipsarevic in three sets at the ATP World Tour Finals.
It appears that Djokovic's incredible 2011 season has finally caught up with him and he crashed to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat, his first ever loss against Tipsarevic and his sixth of the season.
Djokovic began strongly, producing probably his best tennis since the US Open in the opening set but just when it appeared the result was a formality, suddenly his fitness began to fail him and Tipsarevic pounced, successfully rushing the net to open up a 4-2 second set lead.
Djokovic broke back but Tipsarevic re-asserted his authority immediately to level the match. A number of punishing baseline rallies were beginning to take their toll on the top seed and Tipsarevic broke at the start of the final set.
With the world number nine now fully in command, any hopes of an unlikely comeback evaporated as Djokovic netted with a limp forehand to hand over a second break.
"What is missing is that freshness. The will to win, just being on the court, giving 100%. I'm not able to do that now because I just have very little left," Djokovic said afterwards. "I've had an unbelievable year. Nothing can really ruin that. I will always remember this year as the best of my life."
