Today’s semifinal bout in the Paris Rolex Masters was such a treat to watch. Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic hit it out of the park once again as he emerged victorious after a 3-hour battle against Andrey Rublev who gave him a very tough fight. In the beginning, Rublev won the first set, which only made things difficult for the Serbian. However, after the tiebreaker second set, Djokovic got a good grip on the match and put in a masterclass. However, it was what came after the match that caught the attention of the tennis world.

After his match, in the post-match conference, he talked about how he was struggling in the match as he felt he did not have enough space to play.

Novak Djokovic refers to himself as the ‘suffocating frog’ while playing against Andrey Rublev

Novak Djokovic had a tough 3-hour battle on the court today as he played against a resilient Andrey Rublev at the Paris Masters. After the match, during the presser, he was asked about his performance. To this, he shared that he did not get much space to play and hit shots.

He answered, “Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog. For most of the match, he was playing at an extremely high level. I always knew he possesses a great quality but today he played off the charts.”

Usually, it is the other way around. Generally, Djokovic’s opponents mention that he does not allow them to have enough time and space to hit a shot. But this time, Rublev gave him a hard fight where the number one felt incapable of hitting his shots right.

READ MORE: Andrey Rublev’s upcoming battle with Djokovic at the Paris Masters promises a thrilling showdown, despite his candid admission of past losses

Since the match lasted for around 3 hours, it was not easy for Djokovic to win it. He even took a long medical time-out in between to deal with back and leg issues. Later on, he explained what the break was for.

Djokovic breaks silence on the long break he took

The Serbian took a 13-minute break to use the bathroom and called for a medical time-out. He shared that he was struggling with his fitness at the beginning of the match. But he still went through it. Djokovic also shared that it was very crucial for him to win the second set and the tiebreak actually helped him.

He further shared that the message he got helped with the pain he was feeling. It helped him to improve his service game in the third set and finally win the match at the end.

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