Djokovic’s superhuman performance at Roland Garros

This is not the first time Novak Djokovic He makes the supernatural seem normal, but this Roland Garros 2024 he is on his way to the superhuman feat. After a four and a half hour defeat on Sunday morning, when he completed his comeback against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti at 03:07 time, he saved energy from no one knows where to survive another bad mark and 4 hours and 39 minutes battle against the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo. In two rounds, more than nine hours on the track. Path works.

Djokovic’s tournament was painful, in keeping with the doubts that came with a season in which he had yet to reach a final. Without tennis or the confidence of last season, which was plagued by doubts, but honored the special pride that differentiates the legends from other mortals of the sport. “Low expectations, high hopes” is the motto with which he presented himself in Paris.

It goes into fits and starts, but with it 37 years and with twenty-four Grand Slam titles, to continue to leave his life on a court says a lot about him. He refused to go home, to give up the title and world number one in the French capital.

As long as the epic gives itself, it will endure. He rallied from 2-4 in the fourth set to avoid a painful elimination for another day. He defeated Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, 25 years old and number 27, by 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5 and 6-3 a match that became complicated from the third game of the second set, when Djokovic felt discomfort in his right knee. He sought medical help explaining his sensations after a seemingly normal movement but with consequences for his health.

There were other appearances from the physio, who treated the entire right muscular leg, after calibrating the knee, and from the doctor. Djokovic also complained about the state of the ground to the referee’s supervisor, who asked him to move the ball further off the ground because he had slipped and “screwed his knee”. He asked to turn on the artificial light, and he invited a baby who continued to cry by gesturing with his arm. And more complaints because he suffered a spectacular fall in the fifth set.

Pure Djokovic, who uses conflict as an escape route. He grows up in the fight, he feels like a superhero, turning everything against him. He squeezed everyone in his ability to avoid the worst defeat Roland Garros since the third round of 2009. Conversely, he increased his appearances in the fourth round of the tournament to thirteen, 49 in the overall Grand Slam.

yes, Fran Cerundolo He felt dizzy, dominated in the middle of 2 sets to 1 and 4-2 in the fourth. It was only his second experience in the second round of the French capital. But how can we blame the Argentine for anything when he talks to a foreigner. He did enough to recover from a 0-2 deficit in the fifth round, clinging to the lowest option that ‘Nole’ denied him.

Novak Djokovic He is still at Roland Garros. In two days, on Wednesday, against Norwegian Casper Ruud or the American Taylor Fritz. Recharging the batteries will be your priority. He will not stop working until there is a solution.

He flirted with the impossible, like at one point in the fifth set, with 3-3 and 15-0. Cerúndolo’s right cross, the Serbian refused to be passed, and caught the ball by letting himself fall to the ground, crouched, as long as he was. He lay still for a while, making a plane. Maximum flexibility, made of rubber. A super hero.

“The only explanation I can find for this is you,” he concluded in his speech to the court, addressing fans in French. “You helped me against Musetti and today too. Thank you very, very much, and congratulations to Francisco for his level. Bravo!”