Eye despair for Djokovic

Nov 25 2010

Novak Djokovic was cursing the bad luck that left him playing Rafael Nadal "with one eye" at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The pair were locked in a titanic battle in front of an enthralled O2 Arena when Djokovic's right eye became irritated. The Serbian left the court at 4-4 to change his contact lens but he could not rectify the problem and succumbed to a 7-5 6-2 defeat.

Djokovic said: "I really feel sick talking about it, because it's just incredible that this happened to me. It never happened to me in my life. I felt great. I'm just really annoyed by the fact that something like this can really affect the match. I could not play. I could not see a ball, especially the return. It was just terrible. Playing with one eye is not enough, especially if you have Nadal across the net."

He added: "These things happen. Unfortunately, it happened in a very important match, in a very important moment. I will try to see a doctor and see if there is something more serious going on and in two days hopefully I can be ready."

The result, coupled with Tomas Berdych's 7-5 6-3 victory over Andy Roddick, means there is still all to play for in Group A, with Nadal on top of the table while Roddick remains in contention for a semi-final spot despite two defeats.

For Nadal, who repeated his US Open final win over Djokovic, it was a hugely welcome second victory on the court where he failed to win a set last year - even though the win did not come in the manner he would have wished.

"I'm very sorry for him," said the world number one. "For me it was a very important victory because my level was high again and I played very well, in the first set especially. It is a very important victory for the group because I am in a good position."

Nadal's only irritation came from a conversation with the umpire, who asked the 24-year-old to speed up between serves. It was far from an unfamiliar situation for the Spaniard, but he felt aggrieved given the circumstances.

"We have a very good relationship with Novak," said the Spaniard. "I think the (permitted) medical time-out is three minutes, not seven, like when he went to the toilet.

"If I wait seven minutes for him, and for me it isn't a problem, it shouldn't be a problem if I am five seconds late between points. That's what I said to him because he put me under pressure that I had to go faster."