Jean-Julien Ezvan and Romain Schneider at
Roland-Garros,
The nightmare Pablo Carreno Busta lurked, before dissipating, Novak Djokovic finishing, without shining, by winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in 3h10.
At the US Open, in the round of 16, the Spaniard tormented Novak Djokovic and caused his annoyance.
The world No. 1 had, after unwittingly touching a linesman, was excluded from the tournament.
This Wednesday, the Spaniard was still facing the Serbian who had a bad day.
During a training in the early afternoon, Djokovic suffering from the neck had been massaged.
A few hours later, the world No. 1 who appeared on the court with a large heating band in his neck quickly suffered from persistent discomfort in his left arm.
And he suddenly seemed to break up.
Disarticulated, after a few exchanges, he walked the face of a proven player, out of breath.
Scarlet face (like his shorts) due to the effort and the ambient freshness, state of mind polluted by his pains, body language weighed down by the frustration of not being able to give his full potential.
Set supplemented by problems with his lenses.
“I started the game with pain.
I made a bad move, then I regained the pace and the confidence.
It took a lot of patience, ”he breathed hot.
Annoyed until he hit his thighs with his racket
Broken and led 4-2, he stuck to the score before giving in.
Without a spring, his legs often seemed to be put in boots stuck in the clay, his reaction time anesthetized, his strikes emptied of their consistency, piling up faults (16 unforced errors).
Annoyed, overwhelmed, going so far as to hit his thighs with his racket.
Massaged on his left biceps at the start of the 2nd set, the Serbian gradually regained control of the situation, without completely relieving himself of an attitude cluttered with questions, pain and cries in the face of an uncomfortable situation.
At the start of the 4th set, he tore the heating band from his neck but continued to suffer against the level of play offered by the Spaniard (seeded No. 17).
More legs, less concerned, less marked, he then gradually took the reins of the game without managing to free himself completely.
“He's a very good player who doesn't make a lot of mistakes.
The exchanges are often long.
It was therefore a complicated match as I expected. ”
The world number one has immense hopes for this Roland-Garros tournament.
Because it falls after the US Open.
Because, in Rome, he displayed his desire and his ambition.
Before the alert, this Wednesday, since the start of the tournament, he had been walking on a flying carpet, yielding only 25 games in four matches.
In the semifinals, his 10th in Paris, his 38th in the Grand Slam, he now has an appointment with Stefanos Tsitsipas against whom he has lost twice in five matches: "I hope I will play even better than today ”, concluded the Serbian
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