French Open: The chant that betrayed Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic, like him or not, is on the verge of burying the credentials of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal for good.
Novak Djokovic was about to serve for another French Open. History was on his fingertips. The crowd inside Court Philippe-Chatrier understood the enormity of the occasion and what it meant to him. They broke into a chant. Tsitsipas! Tsitsipas! Tsitsipas!
Djokovic was in his courtside chair. Betrayed again. On-court shadows had been pissing him off. The stadium’s lights had been turned on to ease the shadows, and now the lights were pissing him off. All legitimate complaints.
He’d been dynamite since going to the dunny after trailing by two sets to love, and a thunderous triumph was moments away, but the unloved legend cocked an ear to the masses.
Then an eye. Then he raised an eyebrow, and then for a millisecond he looked disappointed. Fair suck of the sav, as they say down at Melbourne Park. What’s a bloke gotta do?
Stefano Tsitsipas trailed 5-4 in the fifth. He needed two things. A second wind, because he was knackered, and a double-handed backhand, because his single-hander had capitulated. Djokovic had his foe, and the tournament, and GOAT-dom, and Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, by the throat. This was his moment but they all stomped their feet in their high-decibel chorus. Tsitsipas! Tsitsipas! Tsitsipas!
Perhaps Federer and Nadal were joining in. Fascinating, eh?
Put Federer in the same position. Serving for another major. It would be universal. Federer! Federer! Federer! Ditto for Nadal. He would have the folks in a fervour. Raf-ael! Raf-ael! Raf-ael! After a lion-hearted fortnight, Djokovic was still unable to be what he would love to be – the people’s champion.
Does it matter? Heck no. But it’s an odd one. He’s respected yet not revered despite being one of the greatest athletes in history.
He says all the right things. His post-match speeches were wonderful. He sounded sincere in his compliments of the distraught Tsitsipas. He praised past winners Jim Courier and Bjorn Borg, who were on the stage, for helping to write the history of the sport in golden letters.
He spoke to the crowd in French. He acted as impeccably as any statesman ever could – but yet again there was a sense of no, not him again. One kid in the crowd gave him hearty support. It stood out so much that Djokovic gave him a racquet.
When Nadal was inching closer to Federer’s benchmark of 20 majors, he said the all-time record wasn’t necessarily his target. I believed him. He’s a quirky soul like that.
Djokovic’s fist-pumping, roaring, chest-thumping gesticulations at his courtside box, long after the match finished, had a different tone. He wants 21, do not doubt it for one second. He wants to bury Federer and Nadal; it’s all he’s ever wanted to do in tennis.
The haters can say what they want about him but by the end of the year, he might be able to say this: “21.”
Not only is the calendar-year grand slam on the cards, but an Olympic gold medal on top of it. Only Steffi Graf, forever overlooked in female GOAT debates, has pulled off a calendar-year slam plus the Olympic gold, doing it in 1988.
If Djokovic becomes the first male to do a Graf, shut the gate, the GOAT has bolted. Federer will be the most beautiful of all time. Nadal will be the most relentless. Djokovic, whether you like it, and him, or not, will be the best.
Bravo. He survived a combined nine hours of pounding tennis, under extraordinary pressure, to beat Nadal in arguably the match of his life, wrestle the inevitable physical and mental let-down, and then beat Tsitsipas.
“The level of tennis in the last 48 hours was not easy to do,” he said. “I think beating two great champions was physically, mentally very tough. Once again, it‘s a dream come true, but I’m not going to stop here. I’m going to keep going.”
Toilet breaks have become as valuable as topspin. They’re virtually always taken by a player who’s on his last legs. Just a coincidence. Djokovic was two sets in arrears when he went for the nervous wee that saved his shot at history.
When he returned, reborn, energetic rather than sluggish, eyes wide open rather than half asleep, bladder empty but tank full, he started hitting the cover off the ball. He moved with the certainty of a computer game character.
He could have out-rallied that 1970s game Pong. Tsitsipas looked at him like the old lady looked at Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally before saying, “I’ll have what she’s having.” The pit stop had a powerful effect.
“He came back, to me, like a different player suddenly,” Tsitsipas said. “He played really well. He gave me no space. I felt physically, everything on the court for him felt much better than before. I felt he could read my game, suddenly. Good for him. He did well to get there.” Djokovic said of the power of his pit stop: “After that break, I felt like I got into his head. I feel like I started swinging through the ball better. The momentum was on my side, it shifted. There was no looking back from that moment.”
Twice Djokovic was down by two sets at Roland Garros. The toughest assignment in tennis used to be beating Nadal on clay. Now it’s beating Djokovic at a major.
“What I learned today is that no matter what, in order for the match to be finished, you have to win three sets and not two,” Tsitsipas said. “Two sets doesn‘t really mean anything. It’s all about endurance. If you can keep up with the endurance, keep your level there for longer periods of time, then of course that’s what is needed in a grand slam.
“I played two good sets. I wouldn’t call them incredible, I just played really well. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough and that’s a grand slam for you. It’s the way it is.”
Tsitsipas was so emotional after the match the poor bugger could barely speak. It was thought because he’d butchered his huge lead. There was more to it.
He wrote on Instagram while licking his wounds: “Life isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about enjoying every single moment in life whether that’s alone or with others. Living a meaningful life without misery and abjection.
“Lifting trophies and celebrating wins is something, but not everything. 5 minutes before entering the court my very beloved grandmother lost her battle with life.
“A wise woman whose faith in life, and willingness to give and provide can’t be compared to any other human being that I have ever met. It’s important to have more people like her in this world. Because people like her make you come alive. They make you dream.”
He wrote: “I would like to say that regardless of the day, circumstance or situation, this is entirely dedicated to her, and only her. Thank you for raising my father. Without him this wouldn’t have been possible.”
More Coverage
16-year old Emerson Jones triumphs as Family Connection Takes Center Stage
World number one junior Emerson Jones made her Far North debut on Wednesday, but for the 16-year old with a bright future, it was an acknowledgment of the past shared with her older brother that was at the forefront of her performance.
WADA appeals World No.1’s doping decision, pursues ban
Jannik Sinner is “very disappointed” but confident after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision to clear him in his steroid case, seeking a ban of up to two years.