Novak Djokovic claims he felt like ‘Bambi on ice’ on Roland Garros court
Novak Djokovic has compared his second round match on the Phillipe Chatrier court to a famous Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer exhibition contest, as he booked his place into the Roland Garros third round with a straight sets victory over Marton Fucsovics.
Djokovic continued his flawless record against the Hungarian by picking up a fifth consecutive victory in comfortable fashion, 7-6(2) 6-0 6-3.
However, the Serb admitted that he struggled in the windy conditions and compared it to a famous exhibition match between Nadal and Federer that was played back in 2007.
“I actually thought of Nadal and Federer’s exhibition match in Spain when they played half of the court grass, half clay. That was how I felt today. Like ‘Bambi on ice’ on one end,” claimed Djokovic.
He continued, “It’s quite windy these days but normally once the sun comes down the intensity of the wind also comes down but it wasn’t the case tonight. It’s tough for the timing and to find a right distance to the ball.”
Half grass, half clay 😳#OnThisDay in 2007, @rogerfederer and @RafaelNadal met in 'The battle of the surfaces'
Nadal won 75 46 76(10)
📸 @WeAreTennis pic.twitter.com/4TUn9esZ7Y
— ITF (@ITFTennis) May 2, 2019
The 22-time Grand Slam champion also gave credit to Fucsovics, who Djokovic claims to know very well, “He [Fucsovics] was playing well, I was up the entire first set, should have closed it out. Credit it to him for fighting and playing a high level.”
He added, “There was a lot of intensity in set one. I found my best game again in the second & the third, and I’m finally happy of my game. I know Fucsovics very well, he can be very good on each surface.”
Djokovic will now turn his attention to his third round opponent of 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who the Serb will play tomorrow.
Novak Djokovic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina head-to-head
While Djokovic has the upper hand in his head-to-head with the Spaniard, the former Roland Garros quarter-finalist does have the most recent victory that came on the dirt.
Djokovic vs Davidovich Fokina: 2-1
- Djokovic beat Davidovich Fokina, 6-2 6-1 (Italian Open 2021)
- Djokovic beat Davidovich Fokina, 6-3 6-1 (Tokyo Olympics 2021)
- Davidovich Fokina beat Djokovic, 6-3 6(5)-7 6-1 (Monte Carlo 2022)
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