Novak Djokovic refuses to discuss eye ailment after shock Miami Open loss

MIAMI – Novak Djokovic refused to discuss the evident eye problem he suffered before his Miami Open final loss to unseeded Czech teenager Jakub Mensik, saying he did not want to take anything away from his opponent’s triumph.

After a nearly six-hour rain delay on March 30, the Serb appeared with what looked like a stye, causing swelling around his right eye. He made a slow start to the match, which ended 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), dropping his first service game.

During a changeover in the first set, he applied some eye drops and looked to be troubled by the infection.

The record 24-time Grand Slam winner, who was denied his 100th career title, said it was all part of a “weird” day.

“It’s unfortunate for me. Two tiebreaks, just very weird match, weird day with rain delay and all the things that were happening. I didn’t feel my greatest on the court, but it is what it is. Nothing to take away from his victory,” he said.

Asked directly about the eye problem, Djokovic said he was reluctant to discuss the issue because he did not want to appear to be making excuses for his surprise defeat.

“I really prefer not to talk about – there is quite a few things, but I prefer not to… I will just congratulate him. That’s it. I don’t want to sound like I’m giving excuses here for my loss,” he insisted.

The 37-year-old was due to grace the court at 3pm local time, but the match did not begin until 8.45pm. The long day of hanging around for the men’s finalists included time for the women’s doubles final to be completed.

Despite his obvious disappointment, Djokovic said he was pleased to see Mensik continue to progress.

“Never happy to lose, but he’s one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest,” he added.

“I have seen him play when he was 15 or 16 and invited him, we had some training blocks together. He was training at my club in Belgrade, and to see his development and evolution is really great, amazing.

“I could see back then already, three, four years ago that he’s going to be one of the top players of the world. I’m super glad that he’s using the potential that he has, because he’s got the complete game.

“He still can improve, of course. So I’m sure we’ll be seeing him around.”

Djokovic, who enjoyed huge support from the crowd who had waited so long for the final, had been in excellent form, not giving up a set throughout the tournament and he said despite the loss it had been a positive fortnight.

“Overall obviously now bitter taste because of the loss, but Miami, as I said on the court, really brought me a lot of joy and really good sensations on and off the court,” he said.

“I was welcomed very nicely by people and supported. Incredible again tonight, great support from the stadium in the match. They were pushing me on and trying to give me strength for a comeback.”

The 19-year-old Mensik, who rose to 24th in the world on March 31, claimed his first title on the ATP Tour.

“To be honest, I don’t know what to say. It feels incredible, obviously,” he said in his on-court interview.

“It was probably the biggest day of my life and I did super, which I’m really glad (about), to show the performance and keep the nerves outside of the court before the match. I feel just super happy and I think that the feelings will come later.”

The Czech has made no secret of the fact that he grew up with Djokovic as his idol and after receiving the trophy he said that he started his career in the hope of emulating the Serb.

“I am pretty sure that this was just the first of many,” Mensik added. AFP