Novak Djokovic pleads for French Open court help after injury as John McEnroe agrees - 'It's not okay!'

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 03/06/2024 at 18:38 GMT

Novak Djokovic suffered a significant setback during his fourth-round match against Francisco Cerundolo at the French Open on Monday as he sustained an injury that prompted several medical timeouts. It came as a result of twisting and turning on the clay on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and the Serb ended up requesting for the surface to be swept more regularly - a plea that was not granted.

There was an intense exchange between Novak Djokovic and court supervisor Wayne McKewen during his French Open fourth-round contest against Francisco Cerundolo after he picked up an injury.

The top seed suffered a tweak to his knee that left him in considerable pain as he repeatedly had to call for the trainer to help him play on against the tricky Argentine in their clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

It would have been understandable for Djokovic to already feel somewhat aggrieved given his last match against Lorenzo Musetti did not finish until 3:07am on Sunday morning, the latest finish in the tournament's history.

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The star's less-than-ideal schedule prompted John McEnroe, on commentary for Eurosport, to describe it as "absurd" and his luck did not improve when he then sustained the injury on the red dirt.

During the last of his medical timeouts, Djokovic lamented to McKewen that the court was not being swept frequently enough for his liking and requested - to no avail - for it to be given further treatment.

"Why is it such a big issue to sweep the court every second changeover? Djokovic asked.

McKewen responded: "Because it’s the groundspeople that make that decision."

'In trouble' - Djokovic suffers injury as McEnroe reacts to 'absurd' schedule

• 'Absurd' - McEnroe slams Djokovic's schedule as star suffers injury scare
• ‘Distortion of the tournament’ – Becker reacts to Djokovic’s late finish

Djokovic replied: "Who is playing tennis? Explain it to me. I screwed up my knee because I made a quick move. I’m sliding and slipping all the time.

"The only thing I’m asking is, every second changeover, you sweep the court. That’s all. What is the problem with the groundspeople doing it every second changeover? For them.

"You’re the supervisor; you are representing us players. I’m telling you, as a player, it’s not okay! You’re going to go with the groundspeople that do not play tennis. But they know better than me if the court is good or not?"

McEnroe had a lot of sympathy for Djokovic's perspective and defended the 37-year-old.

'Damn shame' - Djokovic struggles with injury as McEnroe gives reaction

"I’ve lost many an argument with French officials over the years, trust me," McEnroe said on Eurosport.

"You would think, as important as he is to our sport, and as little as he’s asking, is there a problem if you sweep the court? Big deal.

"It doesn’t affect the timing. He was complaining about it against Musetti. He said that clay built up too much and could they at least brush the courts every two to five games?

"Now he’s saying it’s too slippery, and can they brush the court? Accommodate him, he's an all-time great.”

Later, as the match went to an epic fifth set, Djokovic sarcastically said that the court was "not dangerous" after he took a nasty tumble behind the baseline and was fortunate not to get injured yet again.

'He is not happy!' - Djokovic takes tumble and sarcastically says court 'not dangerous'

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