PARIS: Novak Djokovic shut down three questions during the post-match press conference on Friday evening at Roland Garros. The answers were brief, but revealing what they refused to say.Will we see you again at Roland Garros next year? Djokovic: I don’t know. Would it be okay if this was your last match? Djokovic: I don’t know. With Carlos sidelined and Yannick lost, has your mind started thinking about the rest…Djokovic: I don’t care. I’ll stop you there. The 24-time Grand Slam champion didn’t have much appetite for questions. It was direct and uncomfortable, like his on-court challenge in the third round of the French Open against 19-year-old Joao Fonseca. For long periods, Djokovic looked in control, leading by two sets and later taking a 3-1 lead in the deciding fifth set. Even deep into the match, in the fourth set, he looked set to regain control, 4-3 and had two break points at 15-40. Two of those questions he patiently answered 12 months ago after losing in the French Open semi-final to Jannik Sinner. He talked about the demands of the surface and how at this point in his career he probably asked for more than he could deliver.But on Friday night, after being outclassed by the youngster, Djokovic was in no mood to get back at them.This is only the second time he has lost a two-set match. His only previous defeat was in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros 2010, when he lost to Jurgen Melzer.
In the fifth hour of a Grand Slam match, body and mind are rarely separate forces. As Djokovic’s legs grew heavier, the certainty that underpinned tennis began to disappear. For all the questions about the 39-year-old’s toughness, Friday’s defeat to Fonseca looked like a game lost in mind as much as it was in muscle. This was the wound that Djokovic carried in his post-match press conference.“When I won the fourth set, I was really tired,” said Fonseca, who served 11 aces in the match, five of them in the fifth set.
The fifth set was full of heart. I couldn’t even think. “I was just trying to go.” Both men were tired, however, only one of them was 39 years old.“Given that I was injured for three months and trying to come back, and going straight to a Grand Slam on this surface is very demanding and, for me, takes longer to find my form, my form was really good,” said Djokovic, who was competing in his fourth tournament of the year. “The end of the fourth game was my best chance, 4-3, 15-40. He played really good points.
He said: “He was attacking and serving strong serves. When I look at the important moments, could I have done something differently?” You know, you can always say yes, but you just have to say, well done, and congratulate him.Djokovic said with a sigh: “Maybe my only mistake was when the score was 3-1 in the fifth service game, and when I lost my serve.” That match, in which five of 16 break points were converted, and three more points won overall with three fewer games on the scoreboard, doesn’t add up to much. However, this may be reason enough to believe that he will return to Roland Garros, not to settle scores, but to set things right.