World No.1 Novak Djokovic has hit out at the quality of one of the premier court’s at the Italian Open following his latest win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The top seed said he was left with mixed emotions after playing on the Grandstand Court, which has a capacity of 5000 spectators. The second biggest of the tournament after Centre Court (10,500). Nevertheless, the Serbian disposed of Kohlschreiber 6-0, 6-3, in what is his second victory over the German on the clay this year.
“It was fun to play on the different court because you’re kind of closer to the crowd, you feel the atmosphere is really nice on the Grandstand.” Djokovic said during his press conference.
“The quality of the court is really, really bad. But it is what it is. You just enjoy the experience of playing outside.”
Earlier in the day, Djokovic also enjoyed a 6-3, 6-1, triumph over Denis Shapovalov during a match that took place on the main court. Like rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, he had to play two matches due to poor weather on Wednesday. During what has been a manic session in Rome, some players have criticised the scheduling of the event. Dominic Thiem slammed organisers for keeping players on site until 7:30pm yesterday, despite no matches taking place.
Asked his opinion about the scheduling, Djokovic has said that some seeded players from the men’s draw should have played on the Tuesday. However, he admits that it was a difficult situation to deal with.
“It’s unfortunate for the tournament to have all day rain. A lot of complications. Obviously the schedule was completely full today with singles, doubles, men, women.” Said Djokovic.
“Maybe they should have played some guys on Tuesday from the seeds. Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know. It’s always in these kind of situations you can think about what could have been done or not. It’s just sometimes the nature is too strong and you just have to deal with it.” He added.
Del Potro next
Bidding to claim his eighth consecutive win on the clay, Djokovic’s next test comes in the form of Juan Martin del Potro. Who is playing in only his third tournament of the season. The Argentine moved to the last eight following straight sets win over David Goffin and Casper Ruud.
“With that serve and forehand, it doesn’t really matter what surface you play on. It’s quite a weapon that he has. He’s very tall. He uses that height really well. He’s very smart with the way he moves around the court.” The 15-time grand slam champion said of Del Potro.
“Obviously it’s not easy for him to move like me or someone else that is not as tall. For him it’s more effort. He’s positioning himself very well on the court.”
Del Potro is currently on the comeback from a knee injury that has kept him off the tour for two months since the Delray Beach Open. Overall, the former US Open champion has missed 36 months of tennis since 2010 due to injury problems, according to the ATP.
“It’s unfortunate that he struggled throughout his career with injuries. But he’s always, in my eyes, one of the best players in the world.” Djokovic analysed.
“If he’s on, he’s mentally strong, he’s got weapons. He’s been in the situations where you play against the biggest rivals in the biggest tournaments in the sport, the biggest stadiums in the sport. He’s not overwhelmed by the occasion.”
In their head-to-head, Djokovic leads 15-4 and won their most recent meeting at the US Open last September.
