Novak Djokovic revels in round-the-post winner, explains coaching setup – ‘Don’t want to rush decision'

ByAlasdair Mackenzie

Published 30/05/2024 at 20:12 GMT

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was back to his vintage best against Roberto Carballes Baena when he landed a jaw-dropping round-the-net winner in a straight-sets win. Djokovic admitted in an interview with Eurosport that he "envied the players who have done it" and said he "doesn't recall ever doing it" himself. He also explained his coaching setup, saying he "doesn't want to rush a decision".

Novak Djokovic was delighted with his round-the-post winner at the French Open, telling Eurosport: “I don’t know if I’ve ever done that” and admitting he “always envied the players who have”.

The world No. 1 comfortably defeated Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets on Thursday to move into the third round, and put in a performance that marked a return to top form.

A moment of mesmerising skill in set three was the highlight, when Djokovic scampered to the edge of the court to steer a backhand winner around the net post before imploring the Philippe Chatrier crowd to raise the roof in recognition.

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“I haven’t had too many shots like this in my life. I don’t know if I’ve ever done that,” Djokovic said in The Cube on Eurosport’s French Open coverage.

“That’s why I was asking the crowd to cheer a little bit louder. I don’t recall ever doing it and I always envied the players who have done it at least once in their career.

“Playing around the post is really cool, it’s a great highlight. So when I saw his drop shot moving away from the doubles line, I thought this was my chance, and it was pretty good.”

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Djokovic has had a difficult 2024 season so far by his high standards and arrived at Roland-Garros without a single title to his name and with recent shock defeats in Rome and Geneva fresh in the memory.

The 24-time major winner also split with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic at the end of March and hasn’t yet replaced him full-time.

Asked by Eurosport expert Tim Henman if he needs a coach or can take care of his game by himself, Djokovic explained his current set-up in Paris.

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“I have Boris Bosnjakovic here with me. He is someone I worked with in the first phases of my professional career, he was an assistant coach, he was travelling a bit, and then he was a main coach in the tennis centre we have in Belgrade,” Djokovic said.

“For several years he’s been working on several different projects we have together on methodology and video analytics so he has been the one providing insights to my next opponent’s game, to my own game, which me and the rest of the team members then analyse. He’s here, I invited him to come in and be with us.

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“I’m enjoying my time with him so far, I’ve known him for a long time, as I’ve known Nenad Zimonjic, who has been with me for the last couple of tournaments. I’m comfortable with these guys for the moment. Honestly, I don’t want to rush my decision.

“I think I have quite a bit of experience and know what needs to be done but I also do need someone who has played tennis and knows tennis, I need eyes on the side of the court.

“Because you can’t see everything you’re doing, even though after many years you are self-aware, you need someone to tell you if you are doing something wrong or not. So far it’s been going well and let’s see what happens after this tournament.”

Djokovic was encouraged by his performance, where he showed a marked improvement from his display in a first-round win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

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The Serbian was in complete control as he set up a third-round tie against Gael Monfils or Lorenzo Musetti.

“I did like it, particularly in the second and third set. Now we’re seeing (on screen) that crucial game at 5-4 in the first set where I had some really good points and made the break that allowed me to clinch the first set,” he said.

“After that I felt like he maybe backed down a little bit because he wasn’t missing, he started very well.

“Then I started swinging through the ball more, great down the line backhands, serve was good, at times lost the rhythm a bit, but generally a good performance considering not the greatest form I had leading up to Roland-Garros.

“The last couple of matches I had were really good, promising for the rest of the tournament.”

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You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.

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