Novak Djokovic admitted to “suffering” after being caught shaking in his last-16 match against Lorenzo Musetti at the Monte-Carlo Masters. During one changeover, the 36-year-old’s hands were visibly unstable as he tried to wipe himself with his towel, with tennis fans voicing their concern online.
@TheTennisLetter wrote on X: “Novak Djokovic was visibly shaking during the changeover in his match against Musetti. A bit worrying. Hopefully it’s not a sign of something more serious.” In typical Djokovic fashion though, the Serbian brushed off any fears of his condition by winning in straight sets. He came through 7-5 6-3 to set up a quarter-final with Australian Alex de Minaur on Friday.
After his win, the world No.1 was asked: “It looked like you had to suffer to get through that. What pleasure did you take?” Laughing off the enquiry, he replied: “Pleasure in suffering I guess. That’s what clay gives you.”
“Yeah, but I managed to find a way. That’s what matters the most. I keep going. I have to, as I said, believe that the process of training and everything that I’m doing with my team is going to give me rewards.
“I’m already feeling some great things on the court these few days, and that’s what matters the most for me, I mean, that I’m on the right path. Now, you know, Paris is where I want to reach the summit in terms of the way I play and feel, so I’m feeling good right now.”
The victory has meant yet another record for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. He now has the highest career winning percentage in Masters 1000 events, surpassing rival Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is a two-time champion at the event, triumphing in 2013 and 2015. However, he has failed to advance beyond the quarter-final stage since his previous victory nine years ago, a notion he’ll want to change when he meets De Minaur.
But he remains a divisive figure with the French crowd, jeered regularly during his win over Musetti. He responded by cheerily conducting them during the clash and made light of their volatility afterwards.
“They’re doing me a favour,” he added. “The more they cheer against me, the better for me. They wake something in me that they perhaps don’t want to see, a winner.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov are the other two players already through to the last eight. A clash between the pair will also take place on Friday, with the court times yet to be confirmed.
