‘After winning against Rafa, I almost felt like the tournament was done,’ Novak Djokovic speaks on his last two battles at Paris
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Novak Djokovic
The French Open was come to an end with a fortnight of action packed high quality tennis with Novak Djokovic coming out as the last man standing. Djokovic created history by becoming the first man in open era to complete a career slam twice. He now has 19 majors to his name, just 1 shy of Federer and Nadal.
The day after his win, Djokovic went out for a traditional photoshoot with his Coupe des Mousquetaires in vicinity of the Eiffel Tower. In the interview after the shoot, Djokovic spoke his heart out how the last two matches were extremely challenging for him. She also said that he felt like the tournament was over after his semifinal win over Nadal.
He started: “I think the last two days have been very challenging for me because after winning against Rafa, I almost felt like the tournament was done because most of the times when we meet, it’s in the finals of events. This time, it was in the semi-final and it was a great battle lasting over four hours.”
‘It took a lot out of me emotionally, physically and mentally’: Novak Djokovic
He then spoke about his mindset after the semifinal and how difficult it was to recover from it both physically and mentally.
He said: “I needed to regroup. I needed to recharge my batteries and try to come out on the court against Tsitsipas, who was in form, and perform my best. It wasn’t easy at all… considering what I’ve been through in the semi-finals. considering what I’ve been through in the semi-finals. It took a lot out of me emotionally, physically and mentally as well.”
Djokovic had a very slow start in the final against Tsitsipas. He was two sets down but managed to bounce back. “After a bit of a slower start for me, I found my groove, I found my rhythm and adjusted to the conditions that were different from the semi-finals. And after a very good start in the third set, there was no looking back.”
“I found my game and I managed to start to read his game and finish off the match in the best possible style. Coming back from two sets down, I don’t think I’ve ever done that in the finals of a slam. So, it makes this win extra special,” he concluded.
Also read: ‘Naomi Osaka needs professional help to figure out her dilemma’, says Chris Evert
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Lakshya Chopra
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