Watch: Novak Djokovic gets teary-eyed after Serbia fall to Italy in Davis Cup semifinal
Novak Djokovic appeared teary-eyed in his post-match press conference after Italy beat Serbia 2-1 to advance to the Davis Cup finals for the first time since 1998.
The Serb lost his singles tie against Jannik Sinner 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 earlier on Saturday. The Italian saved three match points to script a dramatic win and help his team tie the rubber at 1-1.
Sinner then partnered Lorenzo Sonego in doubles and defeated the pair of Djokovic and Miormir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4. Courtesy of the win, Italy earned the right to take on Australa in the Davis Cup final.
Djokovic's victory in either the singles or the doubles would have taken Serbia through. After Miomir Kecmanovic got past Lorenzo Musetti 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-1, the Serbians were within striking distance of advancing to Sunday's final.
Their failure to do so left Novak Djokovic seemingly heartbroken, as can be seen in the video below:
Sinner, who was on the brink of defeat at 4-5 (0-40) in the decider against Djokovic, displayed his class to not only save the three match points but carry the momentum all the way to a 7-5 triumph. That eventually proved decisive in knocking Serbia out of the Davis Cup competition at the semifinal stage.
"It was difficult to read his serve and he was hitting his spots" - Novak Djokovic after losing to Jannik Sinner in Davis Cup thriller
Novak Djokovic acknowledged that everything happened really fast towards the end of his singles match against Jannik Sinner.
The 36-year-old explained in the post-match press conference that a couple of big serves from Sinner turned the tide in the Italian's favor. Sinner subsequently broke Djokovic to pull ahead at 6-5, before holding his nerve and his serve to clinch a memorable win over the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
"I mean, at this level against one of the best players in the world, everything happens really, really fast. At Love-40 I was in the rally. I missed, but from middle of the court, sliced long, and he served a couple of big serves," Djokovic said.
"Yeah, maybe I had a passing shot on 30-40, you know, but he was coming to the net. He was serving extremely well. It was difficult to read his serve, and he was hitting his spots whenever he needed to," the Serb added.
Italy, who won the Davis Cup back in 1976 will face 28-time champions Australia in the big final.