ATP Paris-Bercy: Novak Djokovic after opening win - "I still have a few years ahead of me"
After strong weeks, Novak Djokovic also celebrated an unchallenged opening success in Paris-Bercy. The Serb is in top form - and did not hold back with declarations of war against the competition.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Nov 01, 2022, 07:33 pm
Novak Djokovic has been gaining momentum in recent weeks. The Serb already showed that at the Laver Cup. Small blemish: the defeat against an unleashed playing Felix Auger-Aliassime. Incidentally, the self-confidence of a victory over the Serbs in his luggage recently won three ATP titles en suite. Accordingly, the Canadian is by no means a man who - even with Novak Djokovic - should be spoken of as a target victory.
Djokovic also recently demonstrated his impressive form: the man from Belgrade triumphed in Astana's ATP 500 event in an impressive manner. The 35-year-old should continue this form seamlessly - despite a week's break from competition - in Paris-Bercy. The Serb celebrated a convincing two-set win against the strong server Maxime Cressy despite a tie-break in the first round. "It was a special season, but in the last four or five months I've found my game again and positive feelings on the pitch," emphasized Djokovic afterwards.
Djokovic with an announcement in the direction of the competition
And he went one better: "And since I'm still young, I can play for a few more years," said Djokovic. Which almost seems like a threat to the competition. And also in the fight for the most Grand Slam titles of all time is a strong announcement to competitor Rafael Nadal. Well, in Paris, the 35-year-old feels very comfortable anyway. Especially since he has had many successes in this arena in his career.
"When you succeed in a city, like I did in this stadium, it gives you a lot of inspiration to play well," said Djokovic. "I want to go down in the history of our sport and it's an honor for me to do my best here and try to convey emotions to people," said the Serb, who acted untouchable against Maxime Cressy in his own service games, for a long time But time was looking for a key in the American's service games.
In any case, the Serb paid nothing but respect to the serve-and-volley specialist after the meeting: "It was my first time against Cressy today. And I had never played against a man who makes such second serves. It was almost easier to return the first serve than the second," said Djokovic, who emphasized: "But it's nice to see serve and volley again, it's like a flashback."