"Not dangerous at all" - Furious Novak Djokovic gives sarcastic thumbs up to French Open ground staff after nasty fall during 4R
Novak Djokovic was left fuming by the conditions of the court at the 2024 French Open on Monday against Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round. In a five-set thriller, the Serb took a nasty fall in the final round set and went on to lash out at the ground staff and tournament supervisor.
Djokovic and Cerundolo shared the first four sets, with the Serb taking the first and the fourth and Cerundolo grabbing the second and third. The deciding set began with the World No. 1 breaking early, only for Cerundolo to get back on serve again immediately with a break of his own.
Serving to restore parity at 2-1*, Cerundolo was 15-0 down when the Serb took a tumble during the next rally on Court Philippe-Chartrier. Djokovic immediately got to his knees but appeared rattled by the fall.
His body fully covered in clay, the World No. 1 was furious as he walked over to his bench to wash his arms with some water, directing his anger at the ground staff for allowing clay to build up on the court.
“Great job from you guys. You know better than us. It’s not slippery at all. Not dangerous at all. Well done supervisor and everyone. Ground staff, well done," Djokovic muttered to himself while sarcastically giving a thumbs up in the direction of the tournament referee.
Cerundolo, unperturbed by the commotion, went on to hold his serve for 2-2, but Djokovic took the fifth set 6-3 to romp into the quarterfinals.
Novak Djokovic moves three wins within title defense at 2024 French Open
With the win over Francisco Cerundolo, Novak Djokovic has moved within three wins of a successful title defense at the 2024 French Open. Standing in his way next is either Taylor Fritz or two-time former Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals.
After that, the World No. 1 is expected to run into fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, followed by either second seed Jannik Sinner or third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Winning in Paris this year will give a fourth French Open crown for the Serb. If he does so, it will also mean that he becomes the first man to complete the Quadruple Career Slam achievement -- winning all four of the Grand Slams at least one time each. Currently, Djokovic is the only man to have completed the Triple Career Slam.