Novak Djokovic was irked by a yelling child, booed by the crowd and looked ‘grumpy’ during Monday’s French Open clash against Francisco Cerundolo.
The 37-year-old is the top seed at Roland-Garros as he looks to defend the title he clinched last year and land a historic 25th Grand Slam singles trophy.
Djokovic faced Argentine 23rd-seed Cerundolo in the fourth round on Monday, which produced a crazy second set with plenty of drama in the French capital.
The Serbian was forced to call the trainer on after picking up some kind of muscle strain in his right leg, with the tennis veteran seen having intensive calf treatment.
Djokovic also took painkillers during the medical time out but was clearly still struggling as the match resumed on the Paris clay and the pressure grew on him.
‘It seems to be pretty concerning, the fact that Novak Djokovic is feeling his leg and testing it at every point,’ Former British star Naomi Broady told the BBC.
‘Djokovic isn’t feeling 100 per cent happy out there today, maybe he’s still a bit grumpy from his 3am finish.
‘He might be a little fatigued and not quite recovered in time. There’s quite a lot of chat going on and a lot of stares to his box. He’s also not been happy with the court, saying it feels slippy under foot.’
The physio came back out at a changeover to give Djokovic’s right leg another rubdown – and after play resumed – the 24-time major winner was frustrated by a spectator who called out during a point, which resulted in boos from the crowd.
Later in the second set, Djokovic was again angered by the crowd on court Philippe-Chatrier, this time due to a disruptive child.
Just before the Serbian was about to serve, a very young spectator started screaming, as the mother was seen quickly leaving down the stairs with her child.
Djokovic ended up losing the point and then turned to where the child had been shouting, dramatically gesturing with his hands and grumbling under his breath.
Just before Cerundolo wrapped up the second set, Djokovic also took issue with his own team as Broady added on commentary duties: ‘[He] is just shouting from the baseline to his box. He’s not happy with the information he’s receiving.’
MORE : Jos Buttler can lead England to a fast start at the T20 World Cup with victory over potential banana skin Scotland
MORE : Novak Djokovic faces ‘difficult’ French Open problem, says rival Carlos Alcaraz
MORE : French Open star blasted for ‘disrespecting’ female umpire with bizarre request
Share your story or advertise with us: Whatsapp: +2347068606071 Email: info@newspotng.com
