“Not trying to undermine my performance or my victory today, (but) I can freely say that this was not Novak Djokovic from the U.S. Open or Wimbledon,” Tipsarevic said. “Which is in a way normal. He won everything a person can win. He had the best season, if I’m not mistaking, in the history of this sport.”
Tipsarevic entered the tournament as an alternate after Andy Murray pulled out after his loss to Ferrer on Monday, and had no chance of advancing after losing his first match to Berdych.
Djokovic was coming off a 6-3, 6-1 loss to Ferrer on Wednesday, which tied for the worst defeat for a No. 1-ranked player since 1983. He looked a lot more combative early on against Tipsarevic, showing flashes of the spectacular shotmaking that led him to a 69-4 record in 2011 heading into this tournament.
“I lost a match that I think I was on the way to win, Djokovic said. “But if this is my last match in the Masters Cup, I’ll be happy because I think, at least comparing to the match against Ferrer, I played a little bit better.”
He was helped at times by Tipsarevic’s erratic backhand, which often seemed to desert him in key moments during the first set. But the ninth-seeded Serb’s accuracy improved as Djokovic’s deteriorated, with Tipsarevic making just three errors in the final set.
Both players finished with more unforced errors than winners—37 to 30 for Djokovic, and 24 to 21 for Tipsarevic.