Valentin Royer has given his verdict on Novak Djokovic’s frustrations with the French crowd during their match at Roland Garros.
Royer was beaten by Djokovic 6-3, 6-2, 6(7)-7, 6-3 in a dramatic second round match that lasted nearly four hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The French crowd were very involved during this match, particularly supporting their home player in Royer.
This left Djokovic frustrated during the match, as he said that someone in the crowd had ‘no respect’ after calling out during his serve, and now Royer has responded to the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s complaints.
Valentin Royer suggests Novak Djokovic should expect noisy crowds
When asked about Djokovic and the crowd in his post-match press conference, Royer explained that he felt like his opponent relished the atmosphere.
Royer then also specifically responded to Djokovic’s complaints, claiming that this is something that he should expect, especially given that it was kids day at Roland Garros.
“Yes, yes, as he does always. The thing is that I have the impression that every time the crowd is cheering for me, he takes the energy or the negativity of what’s happening,” said Royer.
“He was also complaining a lot about the noise and everything, but you have to expect that it’s going to be noisy it’s Wednesday, it’s kids day, a lot of kids on the court, they make some noise.
“But yeah, I think he took that energy against him for, I mean as usual, he takes the energy whatever it is to make him play well. When at 5-3, I saved the match point at advantage with the half volley and I went with the crowd, then he just went calm and aced me. I was just like, ‘Yeah, typical Novak thing’.
“But yeah, he played really good and I think in the tie-break I had more opportunity to get the destiny in my hands to at least have the opportunity to get some powerful shots and the opportunity to take the set and I took it, so at least I’m happy with the way I fought.”
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Djokovic only played one match on clay coming into Roland Garros this year, leading to a lot of question marks over his fitness.
Royer admitted that he wishes he had taken the match into a fifth set to test Djokovic, and suggested that the Serbian tries to provoke a reaction out of his opponent when he is complaining and stretching out his body.
“On a physical level, I would have liked to have gone to a fifth set, honestly, to see how he would have held up,” said Royer. “I saw him complaining a bit and stretching, but it’s Novak right? He usually does this to try and see how the opponent reacts. But for me, it didn’t impact me.
“I tried to keep my focus, especially in the third and fourth, because he’s an exceptional player, even if he complains about his back or physical pain or whatever, he runs and he’ll go and get all the points. So yeah, it was just impressive in the two or three games and after that, I got into it and I felt like I was playing a player like any other who has a good level of play, who has an exceptional record.
“But for example, when Marc [Maury] announced Novak’s record during the warm-up, I didn’t even listen, I was in my own little world, I was in my own thing because we had a good briefing before the match on the fact that we absolutely should not play the legend and just play a tennis player.
“Because if you play the legend, you’ve already lost before you step on to the court. The goal is to play the ball, not the legend. So yeah, it was important for me to stay focused on what I had to do.”
Valentin Royer rates Novak Djokovic’s level after playing him
Despite Djokovic’s various issues during the match, he was still able to overcome the test of Royer to move to within five wins of a 25th Grand Slam title.
When asked about Djokovic’s level, Royer appeared impressed by the 39-year-old and highlighted his serve as something that was particularly strong.
“Yeah, he had a decent level in the match, especially when the sun was still out, when the conditions were pretty dry,” said Royer. “The ball was going pretty fast, he was getting me a lot of wrong foot.
“It was tough for me, he played well tactically and as soon as the ball started to get a little slower I started to play well, have more time so I could use my powerful shots and yeah, I just tried to fight like a dog and I got the second [third] set by saving the match point, but yeah he played really well honestly.
“He served particularly well I thought in the first and second set, I didn’t check the stats yet but first and second set he played a lot of first serves in. The tactic with the team was clear, to get a lot of aggressive shots out of his second serve and I didn’t get the opportunity a lot, so yeah.”
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Royer was also asked if he thinks Djokovic can go all the way to the title, but he did not want to comment too much on this.
The Frenchman responded, “You never know, I don’t want to advance myself too much.”
Djokovic will now face another tough test against Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, who came from two sets down to beat Dino Prizmic.
