Cerúndolo: “It is a very nice reward to play against Djokovic at Roland Garros” | ATP Tour

Roland Garros

Cerúndolo: “It is a very nice prize to play against Djokovic at Roland Garros”

June 02, 2024

Francisco Cerúndolo will fulfill a dream this Monday at Roland Garros. It happens that for the No. 23 favorite, having the chance to face the No. 1 of the PIF ATP Rankings Novak Djokovic, for a place in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, is something that he had been longing for for a long time and finally he got his chance. chance.

For the 25-year-old Argentine, Djokovic was always a reference and his main tennis idol, due to his ability to do all kinds of things on the court. And to his surprise, the first time he met him, the Serbian had a surprising warmth that made him admire him even more.

In 2021, Cerúndolo was just beginning to enter the Tour and, after achieving a surprising final in Buenos Aires, a few months later he went to play the Serbia Open qualification in Belgrade. Who received it in the verstuary? His idol. “Djokovic came up to me to greet me, I was 110, 120 in the ranking… he greeted me, introduced himself and began to congratulate me, not only for the final in Buenos Aires [su primera final en el circuito ATP]also congratulated me for having won three Challengers, for my moment, I don’t know what… I knew everything,” Cerúndolo said with a laugh.

At that moment, Cerúndolo was surprised that even Djokovic asked him about his younger brother Juan Manuel: “I said ‘wow, the skinny guy has been 1st in the world for a thousand years but he knows everything about everyone and he cares,’ he said.

A couple of years later, and after sharing a training court a few times, Cerúndolo will have the opportunity to measure himself on the court, in the third round of the Philippe Chatrier, against the champion of 24 Majors. “I have never played a match against him (for points)… I don’t know how much longer he will play and how many more chances I will have to play against him in a Grand Slam draw, round of 16 at Roland Garros, center court, against the best in history in numbers, it is a very nice award,” he said.

What do you expect from that match? “It will be an unforgettable experience: these days there were a lot of Argentines in all the games and it is always a pleasure to play with the support of the public, I hope they can do their part for me and, I imagine, that in Argentina there will be many people cheering me on TV” , he claimed.

For his part, Djokovic also spoke about what he expects from the match against Cerúndolo. “He is a good boy, hardworking, together with his brother a few years ago they entered the tour. He is Argentine, he knows how to play well on clay, so I hope I can be rested and prepared because he is going to make me run,” he predicted. .

Meanwhile, in the rest of the day the day will have three duels of favorites with Daniil Medvedev facing Alex De Miñaur, the two-time finalist Casper Ruud against Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev against Holger Rune.