“I am not getting carried away” – Olga Danilovic after career-best victory at Roland-Garros
After years of injury setbacks, the Serb has finally made her big breakthrough at a Grand Slam. But she explains why she will not be getting carried away
Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic
Olga Danilovic finished her press obligations at eight o’clock on Thursday evening, following what was the biggest victory of her career over Danielle Collins in the second round of the French Open.
“I am more mature, I am not getting carried away,” Danilovic told Serbian reporters in a typically serene manner.
Fifteen hours later she stepped on Court Simonne-Mathieu for a battle against Donna Vekic. Down, but never out, Danilovic recovered multiple times from the verge of defeat to prevail in a three hour and eight minute match, winning 0-6 7-5 7-6 (10-8).
Ever since she broke onto the big scene by winning the title in Moscow in 2018, Danilovic – daughter of Serbia’s basketball legend Predrag Danilović – seemed destined for great things. So far, it hadn’t quite turned out that way.
There were occasional glimpses of her enormous potential – she pushed Ons Jabeur to three sets at Roland Garros 2023, and last year she scored victories over Emma Navarro and Jasmine Paolini, both of whom went on to break top 20 in the rankings. She also played the United Cup with Novak Djokovic.
Consistence, the holy grail of tennis success, still eludes her. Danilovic did make some wrong choices along the way, changing coaches frequently. But above all, her health prevented her from making more significant strides.
“When Olga is confident and playing at a high level, she can beat anyone, especially on clay,
including top 10 players”, Biljana Veselinovic, Katie Boulter’s coach, told Sport klub before the main draw began.
“The problem with Olga is that she always lacked consistency because of injuries. She seems physically really well now.”
recurrent injury a setback for Danilovic
Danilovic missed nine months of competition in 2021 and 2022 due to health issues (“I went to the doctor a million times”) and dealt with numerous injuries.
The latest trouble – chronic knee injury. “You guys all know me really well, how many times have you seen me without the tape on my knee”, laughed 23-year-old Danilovic following her win over Collins, before continuing on a more serious note.
“At the moment it’s fine, but I’ve been dealing with it for a long time now. I am learning how to make friends with this injury, although I don’t like to talk about injuries too much. It is a chronic issue, but I found some treatments and drills that suit me.
“Also, I know how to assess the pain, which kind of pain is bearable, when should I stop etc. I am boring everyone to death with my knee, I hope it gets better.”
If there is one thing Danilovic takes pride in, it’s being a fighter. She backs those words up by her ‘never-say-die’ attitude on the court. Just recently in Madrid, she was 3-6 2-5 down to Clara Burel, before staging a comeback, saving four match points en route.
Against Vekic, she was a break down in the third set and faced four break points to go a double break down, then she was 5-6 and 30-0 down with Donna serving for the match, and finally 2-6 down in the super tiebreak.
She never gave up, but what is perhaps even more impressive – and a sign of maturity – is how Danilovic handled her big-name opponents playing on a high level for longer stretches.
Both times, she hung tough, never wavered, never complained and managed to stay close on the scoreboard long enough for an opportunity to hit back. Once it did – she pounced. Just like she did on her first match point versus Vekic, finishing the match off with a signature forehand down the line.
“If I stay healthy, I know what I can do, I’ve shown it in the past and I know what I am capable of. But – step by step”, said Danilovic confidently and trying not to sound arrogant at the same time, following her win over Collins.
Olga managed to stay off the phone (“I only spoke to my close ones”) on Thursday evening, she watched an episode of her favourite show before falling asleep at around 11.15PM.
“My coach and I try to keep it as simple as possible, we don’t change our routines just because it’s the third round of a Slam. We played some cards, I played a game on my phone – actually, my Dad and I are ‘killing it’ in solitaire. Before the match we warm up, talk about my opponent and what I need to do, but when we (Olga’s coach and her) go out to dinner, we don’t talk too much about tennis. We try to keep it as normal as possible.”
strong links with spain stemmed from connection with alex corretja
Born in Belgrade, Danilovic’s base is now in Madrid, where she met her boyfriend Jan Oblak, goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid. She moved to the capital of Spain to find a more peaceful environment, but she has a long-standing affiliation with Spanish coaches and other team members, starting with Alex Corretja. So much so that the headline in a Spanish newspaper referred to her as ’La española’ – Spanish woman.
As of now she is working with Jose ‘Pepo’ Clavet (who coached Corretja, Verdasco, Robredo and other Spaniards), who was here for the qualifiers before Alejandro Garcia Cenzano took over. Garcia Senzano (28) used to be a hitting partner for Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Paula Badosa, and he worked with Tamara Zidanšek and Veronica Cepede Royg.
“We clicked nicely,” Danilović said of Garcia Cenzano.
“We have a great relationship and he is on the same page with Pepo as well. Alex understands my game and me as a person, which is equally important. Of course, tennis knowledge is really important for a coach, but we need to get along off the court as well, since we spend a lot of time together. A coach is not supposed to change who I am, but to help me become the best version of myself.”
Danilovic climbed to a career high of 93 in June last year, but never really settled there for long enough to avoid having to play qualifiers at Grand Slam events.
At live rankings, she is projected to become world number 107. Should she beat Marketa Vondroušova in the fourth round, she would soar to the top 80.
“Those numbers sound exciting, but they don’t interest me at all,” Olga told the Serbian reporters with a smile, suggesting with her facial expressions that she doesn’t want to talk about it. Yet.
“Whatever happens on Sunday against the reigning Wimbledon champion Vondrousova, this French Open feels like the breakthrough Danilovic has been waiting for.
No turning back now.
