PARIS – If Novak Djokovic is going to speculate about this being his last French Open, then I am certainly not going to hold back on speculating about this being his last French Open.
If Friday night was indeed the end at Roland Garros, he went out with distinction in the semifinals: giving the newly entrenched No. 1 Jannik Sinner plenty of trouble and variety for three taut sets that could so easily have turned into four and maybe even extended to five.
“He can change gears so fast, you know, in one point, and then he gets the energy,” Sinner said. “Things could have gone very quickly in the other way, too. But yeah, there is a lot of stress. It’s important to calm down. It’s important to take your time. It’s important to understand the moments of the match, which I think today I did very well.”
Djokovic, at age 38, was close to making it a true tussle but ultimately was not quite solid enough to resist Sinner’s infernal, tight-to-the-baseline rhythm. The Italian can make even a veteran superstar feel that they are playing a familiar game at an unfamiliar and uncomfortable pace.