To argue that Novak Djokovic had been having a down season heading into the French Open would be to grossly understate the obvious. It wasn’t simply that he had zero titles to his name since the turn of the year. It was that he had endured shocking loss after shocking loss, even in seemingly nondescript tournaments. And so pronounced had his swoon been that he even saw fit to part ways with longtime coach Goran Ivanisevich in an effort to inspire change — any change — in his outlook. Never mind that the hitherto-productive partnership brought him half his record-setting tally of 24 Grand Slam championships.
Given Djokovic’s travails, not a few observers rightly believed he would be hard-pressed to defend his title at Roland Garros. After all, he showed nothing in his abbreviated showings in tune-up events to inspire confidence in his campaign for a fourth major title on red clay. In fact, the questions that surrounded his push in the first week of competition didn’t concern his fitness for taking the measure of other marquee names. Rather, they focused on his capacity — or, to be more precise, lack thereof — to survive the early rounds.
And, true enough, Djokovic has rubbed elbows with trouble merely to set up a meeting with seventh seed Casper Ruud in the Round of Eight. Of his four set-tos, three have been decidedly rocky; he was pushed to a tiebreak by unheralded Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and then to nail-biting five-set marathons by low seeds Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo. The last two contests, in particular, were problematic and exposed his vulnerability to an upset. Were it not for his experience and determination, he would not have been able to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles en route to victory.
Certainly, Djokovic was only too glad to get the better of Cerundolo in a contest that lasted four and a half hours, and just one and a half days after logging the same court time against Musetti. As he indicated in his post-mortem, however, the exertions have had an effect on him. Tests are in the offing, and will determine whether he can answer the bell for Ruud later today. That said, it’s telling that the latter believes there will be no withdrawals. “I don’t expect him to surrender at all. I have to expect him to be fresh, ready and that it’s going to be a tough match.”
Indeed, only the worst piece of news will prevent Djokovic from heading to Court Philippe Chatrier. He may be 37 and ailing, but he’s sure to leave nothing in the tank as he casts moist eyes on the Coupe des Mousquetaires. Ruud will be ready and confident, fresh off a win against him in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, but so will he. Which, from his vantage point, is all that matters.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
