Novak Djokovic issues apology to fans after losing Serbia Open final to Andrey Rublev

Novak Djokovic apologised to his fans for his performance in the 6-0 final set after losing the Serbia Open final to Andrey Rublev. The world No 1 was playing at home in Belgrade and made it all the way to the final where he fought back to win the second but pinned the one-sided final set score to recent illness and admitted he didn't want to have to retire the match.

Djokovic achieved his best result of the season so far by reaching the final in Belgrade. He had been forced to battle from a set down in his three previous matches and looked to be doing the same again when he clinched the second in a tiebreak after Rublev won the first, but the 24-year-old ended up winning the next six games in a row to win the title 6-2 6-7(4) 6-0.

The Serb then apologised to his fans and the home supporters for his one-sided performance in the final set, as he failed to win a game. "I didn't like the feeling towards the end of the second set and basically throughout the third set was similar to what I was experiencing in Monte Carlo," he said, referencing Davidovich Fokina's 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 defeat of him in his opening match in Monte Carlo.

Explaining that the one-sided third set may have been a result of a recent illness he suffered ahead of the clay swing, the world No 1 continued: "Whether or not it is due to that illness I had or something like that, I don't know, probably. I don't think it really happened like this anywhere in my career. That's why I think it is related to the illness that I was going through. It was quite tough physically for me.

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"I guess the recovery time is taking a bit longer than I expected. I didn't feel too tired until the end of the