French Open News: American Legend Jimmy Connors Warns Novak Djokovic About the Aftermath of His Epic 5-Set Thriller

Novak Djokovic just survived a late-night scare! It was just a few days back, at a post-match interview that Djokovic made revelations about his waning motivation. Apparently the younger generation has taken it to heart. In the third round of the ongoing French Open, the Serbian ace started his campaign against the Italian youngster, Lorenzo Musetti. The start of the match proceeded as anticipated, with Djokovic claiming the first set. However, the 22-year-old Italian gave Djokovic a run for all his points in the 2nd and the 3rd set. 

As the World No.1 found himself in a scary position at 1:45 am! two sets down. However, before the World No.30 could claim the biggest upset of his career, Djokovic pulled through. As he exalted after his win, arms wide in the air, there was a worry for recovery in the air! After an extended 4.5 hours long match, that ended in the dawn, how would Novak Djokovic recover? And the same concern echoed in Jimmy Connors’s conversation. 

In the podcast, Advantage Connors, in conversation with his son, Brett, the former World no.1 Jimmy was worried about the long recovery that the 24-time Grand Slam champion might have. Drawing parallels to his late-night matches, he detailed the precarious scenario of such matches. “I’ve done that to Brett at the US Open where, you know, I’m in a tough match, and I’m down and the next thing you look up and you know, three-quarters of the stands are gone. I mean, that’s a totally different feel, than playing in front of a sold-out stadium.” Jimmy said.

While the stadium may not be the issue for the Serb, as more than half of the stadium stayed back to either watch an upset or a comeback. In this case, it was the latter. However, Connors’s concerns are very valid, given the 35-year-old, would have gone to bed in the early hours of the morning, with the Sun above the horizon. “But yeah, I mean, you know, playing that’s, you know, that’s a long match. It’s gonna to be a tough recovery. You know, I know, he’s probably got out today off now over there. But still, I mean, you know, when’s he play again…“

Djokovic would be playing on Monday afternoon, would the rest of over 30 hours wash away the exhaustion of 4.5 hours of hard tennis on a clay court? As the American tennis legend said, it would not be easy” “I mean, that recovery could be you know, very difficult after a five-set are so interesting to see how he handles out but if anybody’s in good enough shape, and we’ll be ready to play his next match because it’s a joke if it’s the way he takes care of himself.”

The third-round match certainly kept Djokovic on his toes. However, the scheduling has been the source of contention for the World No.1 as he took a dig at the French Open for keeping late-night matches. 

Frustrated Novak Djokovic physically pushed himself to the limit for 20+ rally at 2:00 am

In the post-match press conference, Novak Djokovic answered three questions after surviving a big scare to defeat Lorenzo Musetti in a late-night thriller. One of those questions was “Were you struggling to breath at times — you were doubled over? And what about the recovery for the next match?” While expressing his frustration, he answered, “I mean, yeah. 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…” Moreover, Djokovic acknowledged the exceptional level of play from Lorenzo, praising his opponent for “playing the tennis of his life” and forcing him to “work every single point.”

“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… 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.”

And the last line again raises concerns about the uphill recovery for the Serbian ace, as he pushes himself to be ready for the fourth-round clash with Argentine Francisco Cerundolo. Did you stay up late to watch Novak Djokovic’s comeback? Are you worried for his recovery? Do let us know in the comments