Novak Djokovic powers of recovery praised by Chris Evert - 'You ...

Published 04/06/2024 at 10:38 GMT

Novak Djokovic’s sensational French Open comeback win against Francisco Cerundolo showcased his "best tennis", according to Chris Evert.

Djokovic was also visibly struggling with injury during the match and needed lengthy treatment before his remarkable turnaround on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

This comes off the back of another five-setter in the previous round against Lorenzo Musetti and speaking to Eurosport, seven-time Roland-Garros champion Evert was impressed with how the Serb was able to eventually compose himself to seize the win in such impressive fashion.

“He’s played two five-set matches now, back-to-back,” she said. “It’s going to really depend on how he recovers. We’ll have to see about that.

“What I loved about this match was you saw many different personalities of Novak like we always do. You saw the frustration on his face, you saw when he was injured and that last set, he looked so fired up and he played his best tennis.”

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Fellow pundit Alex Corretja agreed with Evert and pointed out how Djokovic was able to settle after his earlier struggles against his Argentinian opponent.

“Sometimes it happens when you’re playing for such a long time, you start feeling the ball better,” he added.

“Many people wonder ‘how come now they’re hitting the ball better?’. Because as tennis players, you need to feel the ball.

“Maybe after one hour, you don’t feel so good, but after three-four hours you start feeling the flow and go with your heart and leave everything aside.”

The Serb is set to face Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals as he looks to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the fourth time.

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Reflecting on Djokovic’s possible withdrawal, Corretja admitted he was "concerned" but hopes the 24-time Grand Slam winner will recover in time for his next match.

“I’m a little concerned because he played five sets back-to-back and now he’s facing Casper Ruud, which is going to be another amazing battle, and you need to be 100%.

“We will see, he usually recovers very well from things. If it’s just a little bit of inflammation, he might be ok. He’s still got today and tomorrow, still many hours to go.

“I hope yes, because we want Novak to be fresh and ready for the quarter-finals.”

You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+