Tokyo Olympics 2020 Bronze Medal Match: Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Carreno Busta Preview, Head to Head and Prediction

Tokyo Olympics 2020 Bronze Medal Match: Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Carreno Busta Preview, Head to Head and Prediction

World number 1 Novak Djokovic looks to console himself with a bronze medal clash against Pablo Carreno Busta

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will take on World No. 11 Pablo Carreno Busta in the Bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday the 31st

Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Carreno Busta : Match Details

Tournament2020 Tokyo Olympics
MatchNovak Djokovic vs Pablo Carreno Busta
RoundBronze Medal match
DateJuly 31, 2021
VenueAriake Tennis Centre, Tokyo, Japan
SurfaceHard Court

Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Carreno Busta: Preview

novak djokovic
The number one seed was widely expected to take home Gold but failed to do so, falling in 3 sets to Alexander Zverev

World number 1 and 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic had a nightmare semi final, having lost in 3 sets to German world number 5 Alexander Zverev, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. He blazed to an easy first set win and it looked like the match would be just like any Djokovic win ever, easy and dominant. ‘Sascha’ however had other ideas and fought back brilliantly to take the second 6-3. The nightmare for the Nole continued in the third set, going down to 0-4 before winning his first game of the set. He won the fifth game before being broken again in the 7th game to crash his dreams of completing the Career Golden Slam, an achievement that will be elusive for him, given he will be 37 by the time the Games come around again in 2024.

Pablo Carreno Busta comes into the match after having lost to Karen Khachanov in what was, in the end, an easy win for the Russian, who won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Busta had reached the semi final after outlasting World No.2 Daniil Medvedev in two sets in the quarterfinal clash. Pablo called the quarter final clash ‘one of his best ever matches’ after he won 6-2, 7-6(7-5).

FS Video

Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Carreno Busta: Head to Head

pablo carreno busta
Pablo Carreno Busta put in one of his best performances in the quarter final but failed to repeat it in the semi final clash

The pair have faced off 5 times already, with their first coming at the Monte Carlo Masters back in 2017 in the Round of 16. The only time the Serbian has lost the matchup was when he was bizzarely expelled from the US Open. The Head to Head therefore stands at 4-1.

Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Carreno Busta: Prediction

novak djokovic
Novak Djokovic will be playing his third Bronze Medal match, having won it in 2008 and lost it in 2012

The Bronze medal match is one that no player wants to play but it also brings with it the chance to win a medal for your country and even though Novak already has a bronze medal from 2008, he will be aiming to increase his motherland’s medal count. As for Busta, it will certainly be a bigger deal, considering the impact it will have on his CV. The 2 were clinically dispatched although in different number of sets, in fact the Nole even lead the first set 6-1 before eventually faltering. Djokovic has a 1-1 record in Olympic 3rd place matches, winning in 2008 against James Blake and losing in 2012 to Juan Martin Del Potro.

Match Prediction: Novak Djokovic to take the Bronze medal with a clinical straight set win.

https://youtu.be/NV2lyiU-8v4

Also read: Alexander Zverev does the unthinkable and ends Novak Djokovic’s unbeaten run at the Tokyo Olympics