Top men’s seed Novak Djokovic let his frustrations spill over, breaking his racket during a tough 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 quarter-final victory over qualifier Dominik Koepfer in the Italian Open yesterday.
The world number one needed more than two hours to see off the 97th-ranked German, before advancing to the semi-finals in the last warm-up tournament on clay before the French Open.
Two weeks after his US Open default for accidently hitting a line judge with a ball, the Serb struggled to contain his emotions, throwing his racket after a lost service game, with shouts of anger resounding in the silence of the empty Central Court of Foro Italico.
“Well, let me tell you that it’s not the first nor the last racquet that I’ll break in my career. I have done it before,” he warned.
“I’ll probably do it again. I don’t want to do it, but when it comes, it happens.
“That’s how I guess I release sometimes my anger. And it’s definitely not the best message out there, especially for the young tennis players looking at me.”
“I don’t encourage that, definitely. But, look, we’re all people. We all do our best.
There were times and periods when I don’t do that, and there are sometimes periods when I do. “It’s unpredictable really in life what can happen. I am working on my mental and emotional health as much as I’m working on my physical health.
“It’s always been part of my, I guess, training and recovery, as well, developing strong character and understanding myself on different levels, the holistic approach to life.
“That’s just me, and of course I’m not perfect. I’m doing my best.”
Djokovic was broken four times before advancing to his 11th semi-final in Rome, where he reached the final nine times and won four titles.
“Credit to (Dominik) for fighting back, but I have myself to blame for putting myself in a position to play a third set,” said Djokovic.
“I was a set and a break up and everything was looking great. I just wasn’t managing to make that final shot, that final step to win in straights.”
The 33-year-old next plays Norway’s Casper Ruud who also needed to fight to get past Italian fourth seed Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5).
“Clay is definitely Casper’s preferred surface,” said Djokovic of his first meeting with the 34th-ranked Norwegian.
“This is where he feels most comfortable. It’s semi-finals and it is anybody’s game. I’ll do some homework and be ready for that one.”
Ruud — son of former tennis player Christian Ruud — becomes the first Norwegian to reach the last four of a Masters tournament.
Ruud, 21, was relishing “a great opportunity for me to play against one of the big three”.
Berrettini’s elimination ended home hopes in the tournament which will be open to 1,000 spectators from today’s semi-finals.
Halep, Muguruza set up last-4 clash
Rome: Top seed Simona Halep and Spaniard Garbine Muguruza set up a semi-final clash in the Italian Open yesterday, a battle of former French Open champions before Roland Garros.
Halep — the 2018 French Open winner — reached the Rome semi-finals for the fifth time after Kazakh rival Yulia Putintseva retired injured while trailing during their match yesterday.
The world number two was leading 6-2, 2-0 in the quarter-final clash on clay in Rome when Putintseva signalled that she was retiring after 45 minutes with a lower back injury.
Murguruza, winner in Roland Garros in 2016, dropped a set before ending the run of US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“It’s a big challenge,” said Halep of meeting Murguruza, who like the Romanian is also a Wimbledon champion.
“Muguruza, she feels really good on clay court and here, as well.” Muguruza leads Halep 5-2 in previous meetings but both the Romanian’s wins were on clay. Ninth seed Muguruza has reached the semi-finals in Rome three times, but the Spaniard has never advanced to the finals.
Halep has twice finished runner-up in Rome in 2017 and 2018, and “really wants to win” the tournament.
“It’s one of the biggest goals now,” she said.
“I love Rome, I love Italy, and every time I have a chance I come on holiday here, so I feel really good when I play here in Italy.” Putintseva, ranked 30, had reached the quarter-finals of the US Open, which Halep skipped because of coronavirus concerns.
And the Romanian said she was pleased with her return on clay with her three wins in Rome this week extending her streak this season to 12 consecutive victories.
She won the Dubai title in February, before the coronavirus lockdown, coming back to claim victory in Prague last month. “It was really good that I didn’t miss much,” she said of yesterday’s match played in front of empty stands at Foro Italico.
Meanwhile, two-time winner Elina Svitolina fell to a straight sets defeat to Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
Vondrousova, last year’s French Open finalist and the 12th seed in Rome, brushed aside her fourth-seeded rival 6-3, 6-0 as she warms up for Roland Garros in just over a week. The Czech hit 25 winners to Svitolina’s nine thoughout the match, with the former champion accumulating 26 unforced errors.
Svitolina won the Rome title in 2017 and 2018, beating Romanian Simona Halep, the top seed this year, both times.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic pretends cheering the crowd in an empty central court, after winning his quarter-final against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in Rome yesterday.
