French Open 2024 Fan Diary #2: 'Paisa vasool' Novak Djokovic, Towering Aryna Sabalenka and the Paris sun
It's time for my second day at Roland Garros, Day 9 of the tournament. I sleep in a bit longer than planned and by the time I am on grounds, the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier has already seen one set completed.
I get into my seat, this time on the upper most category with a side view (not as fun to watch as compared to behind the players view for me) to watch fourth seed Elena Rybakina take on 15th seed Elina Svitolina.
There's something about watching Rybakina, which is really appeasing. The Kazakh has some of the smoothest groundstrokes and one of the calmest temperaments on the women's tour. She's on song today as Svitolina is unable to find a way to dig her nails into the match. The scoreline reads 6-4, 6-3 but the match takes only 71 minutes.
Aryna Sabalenka, quite a contrast to Rybakina when it comes to temperament, is scheduled next on Chatrier against the rising American Emma Navarro, who is seeded 22nd. I use the break to catch up with two of my Mumbai friends, Ashutosh and Rajat, who are visiting Europe with family and are in the stands today. We decide to head out to a smaller court to catch some doubles together and get ground-level seats on Court 6 to watch Marta Kostyuk / Elena-Gabriela Ruse take on Marie Bouzkova / Sara Sorribes Tormo.
After grabbing some food (and dessert for myself - this time a Magnum ice cream which they dip into chocolate sauce right in front of you and then shower with some toppings of your choice), we head back to our respective seats on Chatrier.
Sabalenka is already up a break in the first set by then. It's a warmer day today and the sun is out. Although it's only 25 degrees, the sun feels hotter in the upper section and I've realised I prefer watching tennis when it's overcast, cloudy, and chilly.
Sabalenka has a towering presence on court. Her physique, her powerful groundstrokes, her grunt - all combine to create a fierce on-court persona, quite different from the fun person she appears off the court. The Belarusian, who is attempting to reach her seventh successive Grand Slam semifinal, wins in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, also in 71 minutes.
The next match, Novak Djokovic vs Francisco Cerundolo, is scheduled to start in two hours. So Rajat, Ashutosh (and his wife) and myself decide to grab lunch. There are long queues in most counters today given that it's 2 pm but we manage to get some hot dogs (I ate only the bread and decided to come back later to get myself something vegetarian).
We head out to Court 7 to watch Rohan Bopanna and Matt Ebden engage in a tough battle against Sriram Balaji / Miguel Reyes-Varela. Balaji / Varela win the first set in a tiebreak and are playing rather well when we leave to head back to watch Djokovic vs Cerundolo on Chatrier.
The Serb starts the match strong winning the first set 6-1. He then takes a medical time out early in the second and a murmur goes around the stadium. Cerundolo picks up his game and is crushing his forehand at this point. The Argentine has multiple break points opportunities in the second set but Djokovic staves off each of them until the 12th game when Cerundolo breaks to equal the match at a set apiece.
Cerundolo, seeded 23rd, gets another break early in the third to go up 3-0 as Djokovic continues to struggle physically. The Serb's movement, especially switching directions on the baseline and while chasing drop shots, is visibly compromised as he loses the third set 6-3 and the crowd on Chatrier senses a gigantic upset.
As I move to sit with my friends and enjoy the action from behind the players, Cerundolo continues with his excellent game in the fourth and goes up a break to lead 4-2. He and the crowd can sniff victory now. But somehow, Djokovic manages to break back in the eighth game. The Serb holds for 5-4 and then let's out a loud scream, his first of the day. The crowd and Cerundolo sense that Djokovic is back in this one.
Djokovic breaks the Argentine again to win the fourth set 7-5 and early in the fifth to go up 2-0. Most people are now anticipating a one-sided final set win for Djokovic. But Cerundolo puts the disappointment of the last half-hour before him and breaks back for 2-2. The crowd on Chatrier is going wild as it prepares for a final act of this fourth round clash which moves into its fifth hour, and is officially the longest match I have ever witnessed live.
In the eighth game of the decider, Djokovic comes from 0-40 down on the Cerundolo serve to get another crucial break and then much to the fans' delight, serves out the match 6-3 after four hours and 37 minutes of high-quality tennis.
The Serb survives a five-setter for the second round in a row to set up a quarterfinal against Casper Ruud, a rematch of last year's final.
As we step out of Chatrier, my friend goes, 'total paisa vasool' (absolute money's worth). I've seen Djokovic fighting back many times on TV but to witness one of these in person is an experience to remember. He's still not my favourite player but I certainly appreciate his abilities as a player even more after today.
Ashutosh, Bijal and me decide to catch some dinner at a cafe on our way out. Some salad, risotto, creme brule and chocolate mousse later, we head back to our respective hotels and look forward to coming back tomorrow for the quarterfinals. And I hope you will come back too to read about it right here.