Amelie Mauresmo, the tournament director of the French Open, responded to the complaints made by Novak Djokovic during his match against Francisco Cerundolo. However, she didn’t disclose much information except mentioning that the umpire and supervisor also had a stake in the matter and eventually disagreed that the Serbian player’s request should be approved.
Djokovic requested that the court be swept early in the fifth set of his round-of-16 encounter against Cerundolo, the match in which he tore his meniscus. However, later on, neither the supervisor nor the chair umpire agreed that this should occur.
Djokovic was heard saying: “Well done, supervisor and everybody. Not slippery at all.”
At one point in the conversation with the supervisor, Djokovic was overheard stating that, in his opinion as a player, the court needed to be swept. Following his five-set victory over Cerundolo, Djokovic expressed his displeasure at the denial of his request.
Djokovic explained: “I’m just trying to understand: If a player is feeling a certain way, what else do we need to wait for, for that to happen? I mean, today I injured myself. Yes, I survived. I won the match. Great. But will I be able to play the next one? I don’t know. I don’t know the severity of the injury. But could this injury have been prevented? Possibly, if there was just a little bit more of a frequent care of the court during the set.”
Mauresmo was questioned on Sunday regarding Djokovic’s grievances on the Cerundolo match and the reason his request was turned down.
She said: “It’s not just the player who asks, it’s also the referee’s decision. The tournament supervisor was also on the court that day and also made the decision not to do so (to sweep the court). These decisions are taken on the spot by the people who can judge them. That’s what happened. The decision you have seen has been made.”
Novak Djokovic in 2024
At the moment ranked no.3, Novak played his last match on the 3rd of June when he defeated world no.27 Francisco Cerundolo 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the 4th round of the French Open (draw).
This season the Serbian has managed to achieve a composed 18-6 match record. Novak Djokovic’s best performance of the current year was reaching the semifinal at the Australian Open, Monte Carlo and Geneva.
Djokovic will play next at the Wimbledon (Wimbledon). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 1st of July.