Novak Djokovic says his roller-coaster clash with Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open is an important learning curve for the Italian as he reflected on his own experience as a young player.
The world No.1 was pushed to his limits during what was two tightly contested sets which he lost before cruising towards victory. 19-year-old Musetti was struggling on the court as the match progressed with his movement and was forced to retire during the later stage of the fifth set. A disappointing outcome for the rising star who was playing in a Grand Slam main draw for the first time in his career.
Djokovic himself sympathises with his opponent after previously going through the same misfortunes during the early stages of his career. Out of his first 11 major tournaments played between 2005-2007, he was forced to retire from three of them due to injury.
“At the beginning of my career, I was also struggling with injuries and had to retire from a few matches at the Grand Slams at the beginning of my professional career,” Djokovic said during his press conference. “That’s obviously not fun. It’s not something that you desire to experience as a young player.”
The 18-time Grand Slam champion warns that situations such as the one Musetti went through at Roland Garros could make or break a player of his age. Prior to his fourth round exit, the world No.76 scored wins over David Goffin, Yoshihito Nishioka and Marco Cecchinato in the tournament.
“A new experience can go both ways,” Djokovic explains. “It can give you a boost of energy and strength because you have nothing to lose. But at the same time it could take away a lot because as a youngster you are still developing your abilities to mentally and emotionally cope with these kinds of pressures and expectations.
“At the beginning for young guys, it still takes some time to experience in order to learn how to deal with it the next time. Experience is the best teacher.”
Following their match, Museti confirmed that his retirement was due to a combination of cramping and lower back pain. Although it will unlikely have an impact on any of his plans heading into Wimbledon later this month. He described his clash with Djokovic as a ‘fantastic experience.’
“Musetti has definitely all the qualities in his tennis, in his game on clay particularly, but also other surfaces to be a top player. I wish him all the best.” The French Open top seed concluded.
Djokovic will play Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
