Novak Djokovic’s opponent threatens to quit and makes funny crowd gesture during demolition at Paris Olympics
Matt Ebden was ready to throw in the towel during his opening round defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics.
The veteran Australian lost 6-0, 6-1 against the Serbian star, who made light work of the doubles specialist on Saturday.
It was Ebden's first singles match in two years, and unfortunately for him, he was tasked with the daunting task of knocking out the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Djokovic wrapped up the opening set in just 24 minutes, where he bagelled the 36-year-old at Court Philippe-Chatrier.
And the Aussie jokingly contemplated quitting midway through the match - offering a fan the opportunity to take his place.
In comical scenes, the three-time Grand Slam doubles champion handed out his racket to a supporter in the stands early into the second set.
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But sadly for Ebden, there were no takers, with the top seed showing his opponent no mercy.
Though there were celebrations from Ebden after he won his only game 46 minutes into the one-sided affair, to spark wild applause from those in attendance.
Just seven minutes later the match was over, with the top seed to now face either long-time rival Rafael Nadal or Fucsovics Marton in the second round.
As for Ebden, he will now shift his focus to the mixed doubles event, where he will play alongside Ellen Perez.
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And he confirmed on social media after his defeat that he has now retired from singles duty as a result of his humbling loss.
Quick to praise his opponent on , he said: "Safe to say I'm officially retired from singles after that."
"Was a pleasure Novak Djokovic to share the court with you for one last singles match on Philippe Chatrier here at the Olympics.
"All the best for the rest of the tournament (and if it's not one of our Aussies) I hope you get the gold medal."
And in an interview, Ebden, who never progressed past the third round of a singles Grand Slam, stated: "I was lucky in my singles career.
"I played against [Roger] Federer, Nadal, [Andy] Murray and played in all the big centre courts around the world.
"But I never played Chatrier and never played Novak.
"So some miracle happened and I got to play Novak on Chatrier - so perfect way to retire my singles [career] officially."
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