World No 1 slams Novak Djokovic treatment and makes a big plea to his doubters
Novak Djokovic’s tennis future has been the subject of intense debate over the last 18 months, as his failure to win a Grand Slam title has sparked suggestions he should call time on his career.
Djokovic is the most successful male tennis player of all-time and is looking to win a 25th Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, which would move him one ahead of Margaret Court in the all-time list of major winners.
After winning his 100th career title at the Geneva Open a week before Roland Garros, the Serbian has cruised through the first two rounds in Paris and will be eyeing up a title to defy his doubters once again.
Now he has been given a resounding vote of confidence from women’s world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who used her latest press conference to suggest the calls for Djokovic to retire from tennis are misplaced.
“Leave him alone,” said Sabalenka. “You are trying to put as much pressure as you can on Novak.
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“Leave him alone. Look at him. He’s fit, strong. Mentally, physically, I think he’s ready to play, I don’t know, another two, three years. He’s doing really well. Of course there are up-and-downs, everyone has them.
“I believe the older you get, the tougher it gets to stay consistent on the level. But we see whenever he’s ready, whenever he’s healthy and fit, he’s there, and he’s playing great tennis. So just leave him alone. Let him just be. Imagine if he is going to retire tomorrow, then everyone is going to be sad, no?
Sabalenka went on to claim she was sad to see Djokovic join Roger Federer and Andy Murray on court in Paris last Sunday as part of the tribute to 14-time French Open king Rafael Nadal.
“It was so sad to see the ceremony, the ‘Big Four’ were on the court and you understand that three of them retired, everyone missing their games,” added Sabalenka.
“So let’s just let Novak to be there to show and fight and show his greatness and to inspire that generation.”
Djokovic will be hoping the blister that troubled him during his second round match against France’s Corentin Moutet will not be a factor in his next match against Austria’s Filip Mosolic.
He was asked after the Moutet if his age is a factor in his recovery process after matches and insisted he is handling the demands of trying to win what would be a record-breaking Grand Slam title.
“The recovery time is not much longer,” he insisted. “I’m pretty fit at the moment. I don’t feel like I have any major issues,” the three-time Roland Garros winner.
“Although it took me almost an hour to deal with the blister and the bleeding that I had. So that was not really a pleasant process.
“But I don’t think it’s going to be an issue for me to recover. Good thing about Slams, obviously you have a day in between, so plenty of time to recover and get ready for the next one.”
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