Daily Times

BELGRADE: World number one Novak Djokovic was denied his first title of the year on Sunday, falling in three sets to Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the final of the Serbia Open. Second seed Rublev won through 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-0 against the top seed who had been looking to regain winning form before his French Open title defence next month. The Belgrade event was only Djokovic’s third of 2022 after he was deported from Melbourne — and denied the chance to defend his Australian Open title — after entering the country unvaccinated. However, the 20-time Grand Slam winner was let down by his lack of physical form. The 34-year-old, who lost in the quarter-finals in Dubai and suffered a shock second-round defeat in Monte Carlo, battled past Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic and Karen Khachanov in three sets before the court time caught up with the top seed against Rublev. Rublev captured his third title of the season, days after blasting Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players as “complete discrimination”. Rublev has now equalled Spaniard Rafael Nadal for the most tour-level titles in 2022, having also clinched crowns in Marseille and Dubai in February.