Milan (AFP)
Everything almost stopped in 2010 for Novak Djokovic after a quarterfinal lost at Roland Garros against the Austrian Jürgen Melzer when he led two sets to nothing, the world No.1 told Sky Sports Italia.
At the time, the Serb was number 3 in the world at only 22 and was already fighting against his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ... Yet the idea of stopping all the turmoil after this setback in Paris.
"This defeat was very difficult for me emotionally. I cried after being knocked out. It was a bad time, I wanted to stop tennis because I saw everything in black," said Djokovic .
"I won in Australia in 2008 (its first Grand Slam tournament, editor's note), I was number three in the world, but I was not happy," he said.
Over time, this defeat was finally positive: "From that moment on, I felt liberated. It relieved the pressure, I started playing more aggressively, it was a turning point."
A real turning point: in 2011, Djoko won three Grand Slam tournaments and, today, he has 17, two lengths from Nadal and three from Federer's absolute record.
And today, there is no longer any question of wanting to stop but rather to start playing again, while the ATP and WTA circuits are stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Officially, (the resumption) is July 13, but many say that it will be difficult to resume on this date," he feared, adding that it was "important to have clarity in the calendar".
© 2020 AFP