That misfortune may be in the form of an illness, a last-minute ‘brain fade’ or plain bad luck. It has happened plenty of times in golf where bad club selection on the last hole or poor shot execution has cost players titles, not to speak of hundreds of thousands of dollars, in prize money.
In tennis, too, there are numerous examples of players failing to close out matches despite holding three match points. Much like in life itself, winning the last point is the one that really matters.
All this will not be lost on the 32 players in the main draw of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open beginning tomorrow, especially with the news that Novak Djokovic has pulled out due to a nagging elbow injury.
Djokovic, the winner of 12 Grand Slam singles titles, withdrew on the advice of his medical team due to a niggling elbow injury. On Friday, he had opted out from an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, raising doubts about his participation in Doha and the Australian Open starting on January 15.
“Unfortunately, the situation with the elbow has not changed for the better since yesterday,” Djokovic said in a statement yesterday.
“I still feel the pain. Therefore, I will have to withdraw from the ATP tournament in Doha.”
The Serb added: “Only when I’m 100 per cent ready to play, I will be able to come back. I hope it will be soon. I want to thank everyone for patience and understanding.”
Djokovic had been quite a regular in Qatar in recent years, using the event as warm-up for the Australian Open.
He defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2016 final and progressed to clinch the Australian Open later in the month.
Last year, he ended World No 1 Murray’s 28-match winning streak to win his second Qatar title in an absorbing final.
Djokovic was targeting Doha as his first tournament since his quarter-finals loss at Wimbledon in July this year. A victory in Qatar in the first week of January would have made him the first man to win the event for the third straight time and notch up another record against his name.
Djokovic’s absence now has opened up plenty of opportunities for the others in contention, among them both youngsters and old-timers.
Take the example of Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez, 36, who in 20 years as a professional has only won six titles. He made his pro debut in 1997 but had to wait until 2004 for his first title and then endure another barren run of six years before getting his hands around his second singles trophy in 2010.
Lopez will be the eighth seed in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, and will open his campaign against compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 34, a 15-year veteran of the ATP Tour during which he has won just five titles, the last coming at the Romanian Open in 2015.
Feliciano Lopez, however, has spent many years on the circuit to know too well that Djokovic-like situations often crop up in tennis. If anything, his first reaction was of sympathy for the Serbian star.
“It’s very sad for the fans and the tournament that Novak has pulled out because of an injury, I hope he gets better soon,” said Lopez, who won the Queens Cup title in London earlier this year.
“He had playing here for many years. He had won the tournament for two straight years. It’s a difficult situation for him.”
Lopez said all he was planning to do was to give his best.
“It’s difficult for me to talk about my chances. It’s a new season and players are coming after a break and after celebrating Christmas.
“I am sure there would be surprises as is common during the early season.”
Rising Austrian Dominic Thiem, ranked fifth in the world, is the top seed in Doha and will open against Russian Evgeny Donskoy, while the second-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta will take on Croatian Borna Coric.
Czech veteran Tomas Berdych is the third seed, while Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Frenchman Richard Gasquet, Serb Filip Kranjinovic, Spain’s Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez are seeded fourth to eight.
The winner of the tournament will take on $218,180 with the runner-up pocketing $114,900.
