Novak Djokovic has explained why he reacted the way he did after losing to Jannik Sinner in the French Open semi-finals. The veteran Serb was dumped out at the penultimate hurdle, with his Italian rival winning in straight sets. He struggled to keep a lid on his frustration at times, getting involved in a furious spat with the umpire over a line call in the closing stages.
After losing a third-set tiebreak, Djokovic took a while to leave the court as Sinner celebrated his emphatic victory. He picked up his bag and began to walk towards the locker room but stopped in the middle of the arena to applaud the crowd, who showed him plenty of love in return. He looked emotional as he turned to all four stands before finally making his way off the court.
Quizzed on his emotional reaction in his post-match press conference, Djokovic explained that he wanted to savour the moment because it might have been his final time playing at the French Open.
“I mean, this could have been the last match ever I played here, so I don’t know,” he said. “That’s why I was a bit more emotional even in the end.
“But if this was the farewell match at Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.”
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