Carlos Alcaraz failed to access the final of the Roland Garros 2023, eliminated in four sets by Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard, who suffered from cramps, physically collapsed in the fourth and decisive set, against a perhaps not very brilliant but extremely cynical Novak Djokovic, who kept his nerve, who reached the 34th Grand Slam final of his career.
Despite the extraordinary result, Guy Forget has revealed to Amazon Prime an incredible background concerning the Serbian.
The former French tennis player, who was director of Roland Garros from 2016 to 2021, revealed: “I spoke to some of Novak Djokovic’s staff on Thursday, and they can’t wait for it to end, because I’ve heard he’s in one nervous and stressed, which is perfectly normal, because he knows what’s at stake.
He is very demanding: what time he sleeps, what time he eats, what time he takes care of himself. When his forehand doesn’t come out exactly the way he wants it to, he gets into a terrible state.”
Djokovic and his relationship with the Slams
The adrenaline that a Grand Slam tournament releases in a tennis player’s body is something incomparable.
Imagine when a Major is won, and Novak Djokovic understands triumphs of this type. In a recent interview granted to Eurosport, the Serbian champion briefly retraced the great successes of his career, obviously mentioning the great challenges against Federer, Nadal and even Murray, passing through Wawrinka:
“I think the first is always the most beautiful: I won my number one slam in Australia in 2008. My parents and siblings were in the garage cheering me on. It’s always a job that involves the whole family. Winning a Grand Slam has always been a big dream of mine, it’s the dream of every young tennis player.
Over the years I’ve been lucky to play some incredible matches, with Nadal and Federer in particular but also Murray at those Grand Slams. Some have been long, like the one against Rafa in 2012: it was the final of the Australian Open, which lasted almost six hours.
The longest Grand Slam final in history. Against Roger in 2019, in the Wimbledon final, where he was statistically the best. I never broke his serve throughout the game and I managed to win saving even two match points.
It looked like a movie script, a dream scenario to me. I finally managed to win Roland Garros after playing several finals. For many years Rafael Nadal prevented me from winning it but one year I also lost in the final against Wawrinka. When I won it in 2016 it was a huge relief, like I’ve never felt in my life.”