Novak is ‘fresh’ for final as Krejcikova lands her first Slam
NOVAK DJOKOVIC backed himself to recover from his epic French Open semi-final victory over Rafael Nadal as he turned his focus to today’s clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
While handing the king of clay just his third loss in 16 years at Roland Garros will have given Djokovic immense satisfaction, the bigger prize is still at stake.
Should the 34-year-old lift La Coupe des Mousquetaires again, he would become the first man in the Open era, and only the third ever, to win each grand slam title at least twice.
It would also take his overall tally to 19 slams, only one short of the record jointly held by Nadal and Roger Federer, giving him the chance to potentially overtake both this season.
‘It’s not the first time that I’ve played an epic semi-final in a grand slam and then I have to come back in less than 48 hours and play finals,’ said Djokovic, who admitted he was exhausted after battling past Nadal on Friday evening in four sets of spellbinding drama and quality.
‘My recovery abilities are pretty good throughout my career. Obviously my physiotherapist will try to do everything possible so I can be fresh.
‘Because I’ve played enough tennis, I don’t need to train too much.’
Djokovic famously recovered from a near five-hour semi-final against Andy Murray at the Australian Open in 2012 to beat Nadal in a final that lasted five hours and 53 minutes, the longest at a slam in the Open era.
He was a much younger man then, of course, and both he and Nadal showed signs of fatigue during Friday’s extremely physical clash, although it was the Spaniard who ultimately could not sustain the pace.
Now Djokovic finds himself up against a 22-year-old opponent playing in his first slam final, with Tsitsipas making it past the last four for the first time at his fourth attempt.
‘I know what I need to do,’ said Djokovic, who defeated the Greek over five sets in the semifinals last year.
‘Obviously Tsitsipas, first time in the finals of a grand slam. For him it’s a great achievement, but I’m sure he doesn’t want to stop there. He’s in great form. I think he leads the race rankings this year. He’s had his best results overall. I think he matured as a player a lot. Clay is arguably his best surface.
‘We played an epic five-setter last year in the semis.
‘I know it’s going to be another tough one. I’m hoping I can recharge my batteries as much as I can because I’m going to need some power and energy for that one.’
Tsitsipas had a draining experience himself in the semifinals, leading Alexander Zverev by two sets to love but struggling to overcome his nerves before he finally won in five.
He broke down in tears after the match, a mixture of joy and relief, and will go into the final fully believing he can overcome Djokovic, who will be the player saddled with the burden of expectation.
In the women’s final, unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win her first grand slam title.
In a match between two first-time slam finalists, it was the 25-year-old from Brno who came out on top to win 6-1 2-6 64 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Even in this unpredictable era in the women’s game, Krejcikova, ranked 33, stands out as a hugely surprising champion.
She had been pigeonholed as a doubles specialist, having reached world No 1 in that discipline but always felt she could be a top singles player, as well.
Her breakthrough arrived at Roland Garros last year, when a run to the fourth round helped her move into the top 100, and she has not looked back, winning her first WTA singles title in Strasbourg on the eve of this tournament.
With her 12th victory in a row, Krejcikova, playing in just her fifth grand slam singles main draw, will climb to 15th in the rankings after becoming the third unseeded women’s champion in Paris.
They have all come in the last five years, Krejcikova joining 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko and Iga Swiatek, who lifted La Coupe Suzanne Lenglen last year.