“I was in real trouble” – Djokovic shares feelings of both graciousness and anger at 3:30 am in the morning
Novak Djokovic says there is beauty in winning a match that finishes at 3:30am… If it’s the last one of the tournament.
Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
Novak Djokovic spoke to the media in Paris after his 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Lorenzo Musetti in the third round at Roland-Garros. Here are some of the highlights of his post-match press conference.
After three sets, it looked like you were in real trouble there. How did you turn that one around?
Novak Djokovic: Well, I was in real trouble. Credit to Lorenzo for making me uncomfortable on court and playing some really amazing tennis, really high level.
At one point, I didn’t know what to do. From both ends, he was getting a lot of balls back, winners from both corners, good servers, running every ball down the court. It didn’t feel great playing him in that third set and the beginning of the fourth.
I really mean what I said on the court that the crowd definitely got me going. I really needed that push, I needed that energy at two-all in the fourth. They started chanting my name, and I just felt a great new wave of willpower and energy. I think I was a different player from that moment onwards. I think from that moment onwards I only lost one game.
The fifth set was just amazing. I was on a high, riding that wave and really not letting go of that stranglehold that I created on Lorenzo at the end of the fourth. I just kept going, kept on plugging away and an amazing winner to finish the match.
I want to thank all of you and of course the crowd and everybody that stayed until 3:30am. I heard it was the latest finish of Roland-Garros in history, so I’m glad to be part of the history with Lorenzo.
I told him at the net that he played amazing and it was a great battle. I know it’s a tough one to swallow, but he can be proud of his performance.
Were you struggling to breathe at times, you were doubled over? And what about the recovery for the next match?
Novak Djokovic: I mean, yeah. When you’re playing a 20+ rally at 2am… Who plays at 2am? You play a few matches in your life at this time. Especially if someone like Lorenzo is playing on the opposite side of the net, the tennis of his life and not missing much and making you play every point.
It was so muggy and so heavy conditions, very cold, the balls were not going anywhere. You weren’t getting too many free points off the serve, so you had to work every single point of the night tonight, and that’s why I really physically pushed myself to the limit tonight.
How did you feel about the match before you being put on?
Novak Djokovic: I knew you guys were going to ask me that. Look, I don’t want to get into it. I have my opinions, but I think there are great things to talk about instead. Both Lorenzo’s and my performances stood out, I don’t want to be talking about scheduling I think somethings could have been handled a different way.
But there’s beauty as well, I guess, winning a match at 3:30am… If it’s the last one of the tournament. But it’s not, so I’m going to have to switch on all of my young genes and try to recover as soon as possible.
