George Russell, the Mercedes Formula 1 star, was watching the World No. 1's match from the stands when they crossed paths.
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Following his victory in the Monte-Carlo Masters’ opening match on Tuesday, Novak Djokovic enjoyed a special treat. George Russell, the Mercedes Formula 1 star, was watching the World No. 1’s match from the stands when they crossed paths. Russell quickly inquired about the Serbian’s impression of the fight with Ivan Gakhov. “It was good. It’s a solid start, but it could always be better,” Djokovic responded as per the official ATP website. “Perfection is, that level, you’re looking to get better, to improve.”
“What I find so difficult for you guys is especially when you play second or third or fourth, you never know timings,” Russell told Djokovic.
“It’s challenging and today I waited maybe an hour and a half or two hours more than I expected. So then you’re like, ‘Should I be warming up or cooling down’ and that makes you a bit anxious,” Djokovic said.
“We’ve got Azerbaijan is the next one. We just came back from Melbourne,” Russell said.
“How long does it take for you to get used to the time change?” Djokovic asked.
“Melbourne’s killer. It’s probably taken a week to come back,” the Briton responded.
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“We’ve actually got a couple weeks off, Azerbaijan and then the season really kicks off,” Russell continued.
“Then Monte-Carlo next after that?” Djokovic asked.
“Miami then Monte-Carlo,” Russell said.
“They don’t really keep you in the continents right?” Djokovic added. “They kind of move you around the world.”
On Tuesday at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Novak Djokovic successfully resumed play. The World No. 1 was in danger of dropping the opening set after a fierce challenge from World No. 198 Ivan Gakhov. However, Djokovic handled the pressure situations expertly to advance with a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory. Gakhov entered the qualifying field as the fourth alternate and made the most of the chance to get into the main draw and win his first ATP Tour match to move on to the second round. In contrast to Gakhov, who was playing in his third tour-level match, Djokovic was playing in his 1,254th, and that experience paid off in crucial situations.
“It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I haven’t played my best, particularly in the first set. And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions. It’s different practising and then playing an official match on clay, [where] I guess no two bounces are the same. It’s always quite unpredictable what’s going to happen. But all in all, I’m just pleased with the way I held my nerves I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win.”
“I never saw Ivan play before today to be honest. I’ve seen a little bit of his video from yesterday’s match and that’s all,” Djokovic said of his opponent on the day. “That was not the best preparation, but he’s a young player coming up from the Challenger Tour and he just was on a roll.”
