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A forgettable Open for Djokovic

New York: Forgive Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic if this U.S. Open is one Grand Slam event he would like to forget.

“It has been a very exhausting tournament for me mentally and physically,” Djokovic said after his semifinal loss to Roger Federer.

Djokovic finished off a late-night quarterfinal against Andy Roddick early on Friday and was back on court in Arthur Ashe Stadium 34 hours later.

“The schedule was not the best for me,” Djokovic said.

“If you finish a couple matches at 1 in the morning and you go to sleep at 4 in the morning and then two days afterwards you have to play at 11, it’s not really the best thing you could want to have. But what could I do?”

Djokovic was heckled by the crowd against Federer after being booed after his victory over Roddick for ripping into the American over comments about how the Serbian had “16 injuries”.

“I’ve said what I needed to say,” Djokovic said. “I’m not looking at the things that has passed already. I’m just looking at the future.

“I want to forget some things as soon as possible. I will always remember this tournament in the best possible way. I don’t want to take the bad memories out of it, just turn the page and try to do better next year.”’ — AFP

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