‘I Screwed up My Knee’ – Frustrated Novak Djokovic Bashes French Open Supervisor for His Alleged Ignorance

The French Open is one of the most difficult tournaments in the tennis calendar, and Novak Djokovic is getting to know why. A few days ago, he played a marathon match against Lorenzo Musetti which took a toll on his body. Being on the court till 3 AM, Djokovic gave his all to win the match in five sets. Eventually, the effects of it were evident today as Djokovic struggled with an untimely injury setback.

The Serb is currently playing in his fourth-round match against Fransisco Cerundolo. During the second set, Djokovic looked in great discomfort and called the physio after taking a medical timeout. While the physio treated his knee, the World Number 1 registered a complaint with the supervisor.

Djokovic said, “I screwed up my knee. I’m slipping all the time. The only thing I ask of you is that you sweep the dips more often.” However, the physio denied the help in this matter, saying, “We can’t do anything.” With frustration mounting, Djokovic hit out at the physio and said, “The supervisors are supposed to look after the players and I’m telling you, as a player, that the earth is bad.”

The injury is taking a toll on Djokovic’s performance as well. After winning the opening set, Djokovic lost the second set 7-5 and is trailing 4-1 in the third. Despite his struggles quite evident at the French Open, Djokovic is doing everything he can to defend his Roland Garros crown.

Novak Djokovic pushing really hard to win the French Open

The Serb isn’t one who goes down easily without putting up a fight. It was quite evident during his comeback win over Lorenzo Musetti. Djokovic was two sets to one down but still managed to win the next two sets comfortably to prevail in that encounter. Subsequently, during the post-match interview, he made an endearing admission about pushing well beyond his limits.

Djokovic said, “Hard. Will to push, will to win, not to give up, really at one point I was not feeling comfortable on the court at all… The crowd got behind me and I’m really thankful for that because I needed that, I needed that push, I needed that energy and, of course, super glad to finish with an amazing fifth set.”

Despite being the top seed, not many are backing Djokovic to lift the French Open trophy. However, he has the habit of proving his critics wrong time and again. This time around, he’ll be extra motivated to defend his title in Paris, with the tennis world counting him out.

Match Update: Djokovic pulls off dramatic turnaround and takes the match to a decider

Giving up is not in Djokovic’s DNA and that’s what the world no.1 did on court Philippe Chatrier against Francisco Cerundolo. Time and again, Novak proves that a little room is all he needs to claw his way back from misery to victory. A small dip in opponent’s game and the Serbian was all over him, levelling the score 4-4 in the fourth.

Crowd clearly has a role to play during such dramatic encounters and ever since Novak found his groove, the boisterous Parisian crowd took it upon themselves to cheer for their defending champion with all their might.

Staying true to their expectations, Djokovic clinched the fourth set, 7-5 and takes the match to a decider. Cerundolo, who had a brief mental block, took some time to shrug off any negative thoughts and starts to match his Serbian rival.

It’s 3-3 in the fifth set and the momentum is clearly with Novak Djokovic to win the match and reach the quarter-finals.