Novak Djokovic passed Roger Federer as the man with the most Grand Slam match wins in tennis history at the French Open on Monday with 370. He did so with an epic five-set comeback victory over Francisco Cerundolo on a court that was not up to his standard.
The 37-year-old (!!) chewed out the grounds crew at Roland Garros after a nasty slip.
Djokovic dominated the first set. Cerundolo could not get anything going and quickly dropped to 0-1 by a score of six games to one. And then the script completely flipped.
Cerundolo had an answer for Djokovic at every turn. He won the second and third sets 7-5, 6-3.
The fourth set was intense. Djokovic and Cerundolo were tired at five games each when the former went down with an injury. Medical staff attended to the greatest tennis player of all-time as he laid on the ground with a knee issue. Of course, there is a debate to be had here…
Was Djokovic truly injured or was he stalling to break Cerundolo’s momentum? History might lean toward it being an act. Court conditions might lean toward truth.
Either way, Djokovic won the fourth set to force a fifth and final. It was in the fifth set that he hit the shot of the French Open thus far.
However, with the good also came the bad. Djokovic slipped near the baseline and took a tumble.
Getting wild at @rolandgarros ! The 🐐 Novak Djokovic battles his way back to a 5th set again. Took a nasty tumble and seems to vent some frustration of the court conditions to whoever would listen…
— RHog (@RHogewood) June 3, 2024
Man. Every point seems huge. pic.twitter.com/V6XRz8U4QQ
It left him rather dirty!
It also left him angry. Djokovic had some choice words for the grounds crew— or really anyone that would listen.
Great job from you guys. You know better than us. It’s not slippery at all. Not dangerous at all. Well done supervisor and everyone. Ground staff, well done.
— Novak Djokovic
Court conditions at Roland Garros have been under fire throughout much of this tournament. Jannik Sinner slipped over the weekend. In neither instance, though, did the slips slow them down!
Novak Djokovic won the fifth set and advanced. He chose to take the high road after the win, publicly. Perhaps he had a long chat about the clay after getting back inside.