Djokovic likely has played his last French Open

Hindustan Times

12 hours ago

Mumbai: Novak Djokovic quickly packed his bags, and then placed it on Court Philippe-Chatrier and applauded the crowd. He blew kisses, tapped his chest, folded his hands, gave the thumbs up. He lifted his bags again and began to walk before stopping again. Bending over, he kissed his hand and tapped the red dirt of Roland Garros.
'This is not usual,' came the call from the commentary box. Was this Djokovic's farewell to the French Open?
No one in the stands remained seated as the man who had won three Coupe de Mousquetaires walked off the court. A great generalisation of the crowds at the Parisian Grand Slam is that they cheer for home players and the underdog.
As absurd as it may seem, Djokovic, as a 24-time Grand Slam champion the most decorated men's tennis player to play the sport, was the underdog on Saturday, as he played Italian world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the men's singles semi-final. Djokovic lost 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) in a high-quality match that lasted three hours and 16 minutes.
Most in the stands cheered for Djokovic, the last remaining member of the Big Three of men's tennis.
The French Open this year started on an emotional note with organisers giving a grand farewell and tribute to Rafael Nadal, a 14-time winner of the tournament. Djokovic was there on court two Sundays ago with Roger Federer and Andy Murray, celebrating the legacy of one of his great rivals.
With both Nadal and Federer retired, and at 38 having to push beyond his limit in a relentlessly physical sport, the Serbian has been left to play catch-up with the two best players in the world right now, Sinner and Spanish world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz.
For a man driven by chasing history, and obsessed with winning one more major title to break Margaret Court's all-time slam record, the 25th Grand Slam is looking more and more unlikely. With that thoughtful smile as he walked off court after the loss, almost as if he had made peace with the fact that this one final record may just be beyond his reach. And that his time in Paris has come to an end.
'This could have been the last match ever I played here, so I don't know. That's why I was a bit more emotional even in the end,' Djokovic said at the post-match press conference. 'If this was the farewell match of the Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.
'Do I wish to play more? Yes, I do. But will I be able to play in 12 months' time here again? I don't know. That's all I can say for the moment.'
He may be in the twilight of his career, but Djokovic is still a force to be reckoned with on tour. He can still dismantle challenges from any player. Except for perhaps Sinner and Alcaraz, who seem to have reached those astronomical levels Djokovic once maintained.
'(It) was a straight-set loss, but I feel like I did give him a run for his money, so to say,' Djokovic added. 'I tried to make him work till the last shot. I did what I could. This is sport. You have to just shake the hand of the better player and move on.'
The Serbian engaged, more often than not, Sinner on the backhand corner to keep the ball away from the Italian's ferocious forehand. But this was a night where Sinner was in colossal form - he committed his first unforced error on the backhand side well into the second set, with 76 minutes on the match clock.
Crucially, it was a Djokovic backhand that crashed into the net which ended the match.
This will not be the last we see of Djokovic. His focus will now turn towards Wimbledon. He will chase that 25th Slam on grass now, where he has seven wins and is one title away from equalling Federer's record in men's singles.
The promise has been left unfulfilled in Paris. Perhaps there might be some luck for him in London.