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Not too long ago, towards the end of an excruciating April, Novak Djokovic could hardly win a match. On a three-match losing streak while closing in on his 38th birthday, he had, in his own words, entered a “new reality”. Djokovic reasoned that his results simply reflected the circle of life. It was inevitable that the circle will eventually close.
There was nothing at all new about the level exhibited by Djokovic on a glorious Thursday night in Paris as he turned back the clock with a vintage offering. Djokovic, the sixth seed in Paris, completely outplayed the third seed Alexander Zverev to return to the semi-finals of the French Open with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Djokovic is the oldest man to reach the French Open semi-finals since Pancho Gonzales in 1968 and he has now reached 50 grand slam semi-finals, extending his own all-time record. “Tonight is one of those reasons why I still keep playing,” he said.
Life will become more difficult for Djokovic when he faces world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-final on Friday. Sinner continued his imperious march through the draw with an emphatic 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 win over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan. Sinner is still yet to drop a set and he has won 19 consecutive matches at grand slams after recent triumphs at the US Open and Australian Open.
Djokovic entered Court Philippe-Chatrier with unfinished business after being forced to withdraw from his Australian Open semi-final against Zverev in January. He had produced a stellar performance to defeat Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight, fighting through a hamstring strain that finally downed him in Melbourne. Having started the year radiating confidence, that injury would prove the start of three extremely difficult months on the tour.
On the eve of the French Open, Djokovic found his way again by winning his 100th career title at a small tournament in Geneva. Still it was unclear if he was truly ready to elevate his level against one of the best. The early exchanges further underlined the high standard required as Djokovic opened up the match with a sloppy service game against a locked-in Zverev, who immediately broke his serve. Zverev played an excellent opening set, serving brilliantly, imposing himself with his forehand and outlasting Djokovic in the attritional exchanges.
Nobody understands the ebb and flow of a best-of-five marathon like Djokovic, who calmly shrugged off the lost opening set. He built rhythm on his serve and tried to put as many returns in the court as possible while calmly waiting for his moment. At 2-1 in set two, Djokovic was rewarded for his patience. In his attempts to maintain pressure on the Serbian, tense unforced errors began to leak from Zverev’s racket, and Djokovic earned his first break.
Having faced each other 13 previous occasions and trained together many more times, there are no secrets. Djokovic picked apart Zverev’s game the same way he has done many times before. He used his drop shot astoundingly well, continually taking advantage of the massive space left by Zverev’s deep court positioning with perfectly timed and executed drop shots. He served brilliantly in the decisive moments, continually punishing Zverev’s deep court position with precise wide serving. Djokovic also chose his moments to serve and volley and was brilliant when he approached the net. For a man with so many miles in his legs, his court coverage and durability remains staggering.
As the match endured, Djokovic controlled the baseline with his forehand and when they found themselves locked in backhand exchanges, only Djokovic was willing to change direction and force his way out. He dismantled one of the best players in the world with surgical precision. Regardless of how the tournament continues, the fact that he can still compete at a high level at 38 is an incredible achievement in its own right.
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“My way of playing is based on running but at my age it’s not so easy to run so much,” Djokovic said. “I tried to impose my rhythm with one or two drop shots.”
Under constant suffocating pressure from the greatest player of all time, Zverev had little to offer once the tide had turned. His enormous serve, movement and physicality makes him an incredibly difficult opponent to face on almost any day and he has built a strong résumé during his years at the top.
However, the story of Zverev’s career so far is that in the decisive moments of the grand slam tournaments, while the greatest players are desperate to seize the moment, he cowers. As Djokovic bulldozed his path to the semi-finals, it was clear that both players on the court knew this all too well.
