Virginie Phulpin 7:29 am, September 13, 2021
Every day, the morning of Europe 1 looks back on one of the sporting events that make the news.
This Monday, Virginie Phulpin looks back on the defeat of Novak Djokovic on the last step of the Grand Slam against Medvedev.
According to her, the important thing to remember is that he won the hearts of the supporters.
Daniil Medvedev shattered Novak Djokovic's dream. No Grand Slam for the Serbian. But for Virginie Phulpin, paradoxically, he won much more than lost last night.
We kept repeating that Novak Djokovic had a date with history last night. At the end of his racket, the possibility of winning the four grand slam tournaments in the same year, which no player had achieved for more than half a century. But now, it is not the story but the irony of the story that we will remember. Novak Djokovic has spent his career chasing the love of the public who shunned him with the same consistency that he stacked trophies in his cupboard. He fed off this hostility around the world to become number 1 and every time he won a major tournament he seemed to implore spectators to give him some of that love they had reserved for him. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And it was last night that he stumbled,as the audience at Flushing Meadows in New York finally got on with his cause, as many tennis fans around the world thought they weren't fans of Djoko, but would still be behind him, to experience the story live. Yes, Novak Djokovic lost the game of his life, but collapsing in tears under his towel he won the hearts he had failed to win in 20 Grand Slam titles. And this quest seemed otherwise desperate. So there, this morning, it must matter little to him, we do not get up so easily from a shattered dream. But in a few days, he will realize that he has conquered the impossible love syndrome with the audience.but that they would still be behind him, to experience the story live. Yes, Novak Djokovic lost the game of his life, but collapsing in tears under his towel he won the hearts he had failed to win in 20 Grand Slam titles. And this quest seemed otherwise desperate. So there, this morning, it must matter little to him, we do not get up so easily from a shattered dream. But in a few days, he will realize that he has conquered the impossible love syndrome with the audience.but that they would still be behind him, to experience the story live. Yes, Novak Djokovic lost the game of his life, but collapsing in tears under his towel he won the hearts he had failed to win in 20 Grand Slam titles. And this quest seemed otherwise desperate. So there, this morning, it must matter little to him, we do not get up so easily from a shattered dream. But in a few days, he will realize that he has conquered the impossible love syndrome with the audience.It must not matter much to him, you don't get up so easily from a shattered dream. But in a few days, he will realize that he has conquered the impossible love syndrome with the audience.It must not matter much to him, you don't get up so easily from a shattered dream. But in a few days, he will realize that he has conquered the impossible love syndrome with the audience.
In sport, we also like anti-heroes
When a player wins with the consistency of a metronome, it arouses admiration. Not necessarily the emotion. You also need to see the human being behind the champion, to see flaws and weaknesses, and not just well-oiled mechanics. Few of them imagined Novak Djokovic bowing last night. Apart from Daniil Medvedev of course, we are not going to take anything away from the major game achieved by the winner. But we said to ourselves that Djoko would have nothing to do with pressure, that he was above that, unshakeable in his quest for records. This is also what annoyed us about him. And there, we saw the weight of history catch up with him. We saw the emotions invade him, the sobs strangling him. Yes, even him. Suddenly, the Serbian is no longer that winning machine that we love to hate. He didn't win the calendar grand slam,but he won everything humanely last night. The fabulous paradox of sport. And then it's also when a champion falls that we become fully aware of the value of what he has accomplished before.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will meet at the Australian Open in January with 20 grand slam victories each. Perfect equality. And now, even in the hearts of fans, Djoko is catching up with the other two. It's worth all the trophies.