Since he set foot at Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic’s patience and nerves have been tested even more than his nostrils, despite the close medical supervision required by a tournament under the sign of Covid-19. Not a post-match press conference without a reporter discussing his New York misadventure. At the US Open in early September, the Serbian had, in a moody gesture, “turned on” a linesman with a stray bullet that involuntarily struck her in the throat. The incident cost him a disqualification in the round of 16 against Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta.
He would have taken off his 18e Grand Slam in New York that no one would have slipped an asterisk at the bottom of his list to mention a “victory at a discount”, in the midst of a pandemic, in a tournament having recorded a wave of forfeits. In ten years, everyone would have forgotten the context. But he was excluded from the tournament, behind closed doors, and the image went around the world. “Whether he likes it or not, he’ll be the wrong guy until the end of his career. It is a stain that will not be erased ”, sliced John McEnroe, known to be a paragon of virtue.
Since the beginning of the fortnight, the world number one has been rounding his back and does not censor the subject. He said it over and over again, he is aware that the episode “Will continue for many years”. But he wishes he could turn the page. “After what happened in New York, I didn’t feel like I was emotionally disturbed, I was able to control my negative reactions. I’m not going to keep on harassing myself, I need to be able to forgive myself and move on, he reasoned at the start of the fortnight, he who advocates a holistic approach to his sport. I am a human being. I have shortcomings like everyone else. “
Wash away the affront, failing to bury it
A week after New York, the epilogue of the Rome tournament – a 5e victory in the Italian capital, crowned with a new Masters 1000 record (36, against 35 for Rafael Nadal) – did not surprise anyone. It is on the court that the inner demons of Mister “Djoker” manifest themselves, but it is also there that Doctor “Novak” provides the best answers.
In Rome, he admitted not having played his best tennis, but today he has such a margin over his opponents that he defies the mathematical laws: a Djokovic at 60% of his means is worth more than practically any which of his opponents 90%. This was again the case on October 7 in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros against his black cat Pablo Carreño Busta. Bad days head, the Serbian, apparently shrunk in his left arm and sore neck, started the game far from the standards of his laser tennis. But his determination won out. “I was delighted to keep my cool throughout the game”, he said again Friday night, after getting out of the trap in 5 sets set by the young Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals (6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1) despite a match 3e set.
At Roland Garros, he is doubly on a mission. Wash away the New York insult, if not bury it. But above all, to continue his obsessive hunt for records. “In 2016, I realized my dream here, after years of failing on the last hurdle. I am physically, mentally, emotionally ready to go far in this tournament. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here he assures, while he can become the first in the Open era (and the third in history, after Australians Rod Laver and Roy Emerson) to offer himself at least twice the four trophies of the Grand Slam. Believe me, I aim for the highest goals. “
Undefeated in 2020
There is no one to doubt it really. Novak Djokovic started the rendezvous at Porte d’Auteuil in place of world number one for the 288e week of his career. He has just passed Pete Sampras (286), and Roger Federer sees him grow in the rearview mirror (310). He repeated it again in Rome, he made it the engine of his end of career: “It’s one of my two biggest professional goals: to surpass Roger’s record as world number one, and win as many Grand Slams as possible. “
The Serb is undefeated this year if not for himself. So far, it flies over a dotted 2020 season but paradoxically, its image is found tarnished. Even during the six months when the circuit was at a standstill, pandemic obliges, Novak Djokovic occupied the media ground “without knowing it of his own accord”. First with controversial statements on social networks, whether its position on vaccination – “Personally, I am not for vaccines, I would not like someone forcing me to be vaccinated to travel” – or the idea that polluted water “purifies” thanks to positive thoughts.
“I find his game extraordinary, of course, it’s less flamboyant than Federer, less spectacular than Nadal but so effective and prodigious” Arnaud Clément
A few weeks later, the charity tournament he organized in the Balkans turned into the “Adria Cluster Tour”, leading to multiple positive tests, including his own. The images of the large hugs without a mask and the festive and carefree atmosphere, far from health concerns, shocked three quarters of the locker room. His image, which he cares about so much, came out a little more damaged.
“I think we’re a little harsh on him, estimates Arnaud Clément (ex-10e worldwide). When you’ve been a player, you put yourself in your shoes. Today, even though he breaks the record [de Federer] in Grand Slam, he understood that he will always be number 3 in people’s hearts, even though a lot of people love him. It’s hard… He arrived after the other two, he’s a different personality but he’s a good guy! “
As if that weren’t enough, the world number one took everyone by surprise on the sidelines of the US Open, announcing the creation of his own union, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), independent of the ‘ATP, the body that currently governs the men’s circuit. With the support of players like Vasek Pospisil, John Isner or Milos Raonic, but against the advice of MM. Federer and Nadal… Since the announcement at the end of August, its contours remain unclear.
Some saw it as an attempt to leave an additional mark in the history of his sport. “Even if he stopped playing tennis tomorrow, he will have left an extraordinary mark anyway as one of the greatest champions who have existed in our sport,” sweeps Arnaud Clément. I find his game extraordinary, of course, it’s less flamboyant than Federer, less spectacular than Nadal but so efficient and prodigious. ”
“He has almost reached perfection in his style of play. It’s incredible to see”, praised Stefanos Tsitsipas, his victim in the semi-finals. Friday evening, the person said he was impatient to do battle in the final Sunday against the owner of the place, Rafael Nadal. “Grand Slam finals are always great cockfights”, he reminded. And he intends to turn the cackle to his despisers.
