Tennis News: Injury! Djokovic wins dramatically
Novak Djokovic wins dramatically at the French Open. The Serb is injured early in the match but still secures a record.
Novak Djokovic wins dramatically at the French Open. The Serb is injured early in the match but still secures a record.
Novak Djokovic’s dream of defending his title at the French Open is still alive after a drama.
In the round of 16, the Serb actually dominated against the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (number 27), but then got injured when the score was 6:1, 1:1 and the match turned. In the end, the match went to the experienced player with 6:1, 5:7, 3:6, 7:5, and 6:3 after almost five hours. He thus snatched his 370th victory in a Grand Slam match – so Djokovic is now the record holder in this category.
Djokovic twists his knee
At the beginning of the second set, the world number one twisted his right knee and sought treatment immediately. When the physiotherapist came onto the court, Djokovic explained to him: “It just happened.” After the treatment, the 37-year-old had to struggle significantly more. He repeatedly tested between rallies how much strain he could bear.
The star’s anger was directed at the organizers. The pitch was too slippery. “My knee is broken because you slip here when you move quickly! Great pitch! Well done!” he said loudly and demanded that the supervisor regularly sweep the pitch – to no avail.
The problem for the superstar: After a rule change, only one treatment by a doctor is allowed per match. After that, you can only be looked after for a very short time during the change of ends. The Serb was visibly preoccupied and subsequently got into an argument with the audience, who interrupted him with shouts.
From the third set onwards, the problems became more and more obvious. Djokovic could hardly get back from the corners and took many stops without resistance. In the fourth set, Djokovic took painkillers at the end and when they took effect, he played like a different player. The result: Djokovic recovered a break and turned the game around again.
Djokovic was unstoppable in the end
In the fifth set, Djokovic was already 2-0 ahead but gave up the lead. When the score was 2-1, he took a bad fall and fell on his racket. There was now a graze on his injured knee. But Djokovic couldn’t stop it.
Djokovic gave the interview afterward in French and thanked the audience for their tremendous support. “I wasn’t always the audience’s favorite here, so today was unbelievable,” he said on the Eurosport microphone. He did not know how he ultimately won the match. The Serb, however, did not want to hear about complaints against the organizers. “I did not complain about the conditions. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied to the reporter.
But the victory is particularly valuable for Djokovic. After a season with several disappointments, he was getting better and better in Paris and defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the previous round after a historic thriller at 3:07 a.m. So it is still possible that he will remain number one.
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