Off Track ..... Crowd put me off, beaten Djokovic says

Serbian world No 3 Novak Djokovic blamed crowd noise for putting him off after his glaring miss handed Rafael Nadal victory in their hard-fought Olympic semifinal.

On match point, Djokovic pummelled a smash at Nadal only for the Spaniard to bounce it back, but with the court begging he swiped his second attempt well wide.

He said "screaming" had distracted him at the crucial moment. Several players have commented on the Olympic fans' habit of shouting and cheering during rallies.