French Open 2024: Discerning Scenes Emerge as Novak Djokovic Calls Out Trainer in Agony Mid-Match

Not all is going down well with Novak Djokovic at the moment. As if his poor form wasn’t enough, the Serbian has also been hit by physical problems that are taking a toll on his French Open campaign. A couple of days ago, he played a four-and-a-half-hour match against Lorenzo Musetti in the third round. His physical struggles during the marathon match were evident in his ongoing match against Francisco Cerundolo.

Midway through his match against Cerundolo, Djokovic appeared to have some pain in his knee and immediately called for the physio. He looked in great distress and even had a taping on his right knee before the match had started. However, with the help of the physio, Djokovic was able to continue the match.

Despite the physical struggles, Djokovic was cruising along the match as he won the first set comfortably 6-1. However, his trouble with the knee continued further and after a couple of games, the physio had to come out again to massage his knee during a changeover.

At 37, Djokovic has entered the business end of his career. Playing at the top continuously for years now can be challenging and the effects of it are quite evident now. Nonetheless, Djokovic proved why he is a true legend by deciding to continue playing despite the setback to his knee.

Despite Djokovic giving his all at the French Open this year, there is very little help from the tournament organizers as far as the scheduling of his matches is concerned. Recently, he vented his frustration on this matter.

Novak Djokovic calls out the poor scheduling of his matches

With rain forcing many delays in the ongoing French Open, the scheduling has been thrown into a mess. As a result, the players are forced to play late in the night and complete their matches. Novak Djokovic was the latest victim of this, as his match against Musetti was completed at 3 AM. To make matters worse, Djokovic was given a day schedule for his ongoing fourth-round match.

During the post-match press conference, the Serb highlighted this issue, saying, “When you’re playing a 20+ rally at 2 am… Who plays at 2 am? You play a few matches in your life at this time. 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.”

It remains to be seen if Djokovic can shrug off the injury trouble and prevail in his match against Cerundolo. At the time of writing, the second set is on serve at 5-6, with Djokovic serving to stay in the set after having won the opening one.