Novak Djokovic unsure if he will return to French Open after surprise early exit | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic doesn’t know whether he will be back at next year’s French Open after suffering a shock five-set defeat to teenage sensation Joao Fonseca in the third round. Djokovic, 39, was the only Grand Slam winner left in the draw as of Thursday afternoon. But a new champion is guaranteed to be crowned after he blew a two-set lead in a Grand Slam match for just the second time in his career, losing 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5.

Speaking less than half an hour after he walked off the court, the No. 3 seed was asked whether he’d be seen back at Roland Garros next year, and replied: “I don’t know.” He was then asked whether he’d be happy if this was his last match at the tournament. “I don’t know,” he said again.

It sounds as though Djokovic would be at peace with his five-set defeat being his final match at the French Open, as he was full of praise for the 28th seed who became the first teenager to beat him at a Grand Slam tournament, and admitted there wasn’t much more he could have done.

“Well, an incredible match to be part of. Obviously, tough one for me to lose being two sets to love up, but huge credit to Joao for really deserving to win the match,” the three-time former champion said.

“I think he, without a doubt, was the better player in important moments in those crucial fourth and fifth. Some amazing exchanges and points. Yeah, he just found incredible shots, lines. It was just amazing from his side. Obviously not great for me to be facing a player playing in such level, but yeah, I don’t think I’ve done too much wrong with my game. It’s just that he was just better.”

Djokovic and Fonseca also had a nice moment at the net, hugging and chatting before the 19-year-old stepped into the middle of Court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate his milestone victory.

And the Serbian superstar explained: “Well, of course, I congratulated him and told him that he deserved to win and played an unbelievable match, and he should be proud of himself and, you know, wishing him good luck for the rest of the tournament. The kind of level of tennis we’ve seen him play created a lot of hype around him, and I think we all seen today why there is hype around him. So, yeah, just the level was amazing.”

Djokovic also couldn’t be too disappointed with his own level, especially given that his French Open preparations involved playing – and losing – one match at the Italian Open. A shoulder injury prevented him from competing in more tournaments.

“The amount of hours I’ve played in three matches here felt like I played every tournament in last three months, to be honest. So, yeah, I think I was playing good tennis, really good level,” he joked.

“Considering I was injured for three months and trying to come back and then, you know, going pretty much straight into Grand Slam on this surface that is very demanding and, for me, takes more time to get used to, to kind of find my groove. You know, taking everything in consideration and all the circumstances, I think the level was really good. I mean, I was happy with my level. Of course, right now being disappointed right off the court, losing, being close to win it. Yeah, that’s all I can say.”

It was a humid day in Paris, and Djokovic was seen cooling down with bags of ice during the changeover. But he still felt like it was Fonseca who won the match, rather than himself letting it slip away. “It would be nice if it was best-of-three, but it’s not. Yeah, I just ran out of gas, to be honest. I didn’t feel good at all on the court in the next couple of sets,” he said.

“You know, I think end of the fourth was my chance. I felt like best chance. 4-3, 15-40. He just played really good points. He was attacking, big serves. When I look back, in important moments, could I have done something different? You know, you can always say, yes, but you just have to say, Well done, and congratulate him. Hats off. He just played lights-out tennis. Every time there was a decisive moment, he went for it.

“Maybe the only my fault was at 3-1 in the fifth and serving and when I dropped the serve. But, again, he played a couple of very aggressive points, and any ball coming to his forehand, around the forehand, mid-forehands, he was crushing it. It was really hard to read, and he was just playing with extreme pace.

“Break point to come back to the match, three aces. What can you do? You know, with strongest aces he’s got the whole match, 220, 215. So the only thing you can say is, Well done. That’s it.”

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner lost in the second round, and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz never even came to Roland Garros due to a wrist injury, so this could have been one of Djokovic’s best chances to win a historic 25th Major title. But he didn’t see it that way.

“I don’t care. I don’t care. I’ll stop you right there. No. Just lost third round. Let’s just talk about something else. Thank you,” he replied when asked about their absences.

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