ROLAND GARROS 2013
Roland Garros Diary: Djokovic’s Destiny, Sock’s Shoes
Paris, France
Novak Djokovic signs autographs for fans following his first-round win Tuesday.
ATPWorldTour.com takes a look at the news and talking points at Roland Garros on the first Tuesday.
Djokovic’s Destiny
What is luck? For Novak Djokovic, it was picking up the racquet at a young age.
“When I started to play tennis, I was too young to know if I'm going to succeed economically with my family or not, if I'm going to meet the right people,” shared the World No. 1 following his first-round win Tuesday. “It was very small chances looking at the history of tennis in our country. But I was young and I was careless when I was on the court. I enjoyed so much. I guess that's the biggest luck I had: to play the sport.”
Players and fans were a bit unlucky with the weather Tuesday as heavy rain postponed the start of play and suspended matches again in the afternoon. Despite the delays, Djokovic toughed out a straight-sets win over David Goffin before darkness fell in Paris.
“Luck is something that you cannot affect, but you can always believe that there is a better tomorrow for you always and that there will be a particular turn of events that is gonna go in your favor,” he said. “And even if it doesn't, it's a cycle of life. It goes always up and down and you can't expect always to be at your best. It's normal.”
Sock Pays Tribute
American qualifier Jack Sock celebrated a win on his Roland Garros debut, but took time to remember two friends who recently passed away respectively in diving and driving accidents, wearing the initials of Alex Rovello and Brian Boyd on his shoes to honour their memory.
“Just sucks to see someone go that soon. They were both 21, I think, sophomores, juniors in college. Kind of hits you out of nowhere, so I put the initials on my shoes and definitely thinking of them out there,” said the 20-year-old Nebraskan. Sock played junior tennis with Rovello and high school tennis with Boyd.
Video Of The Day
Frenchman Benoit Paire explains why Roger Federer is the definition of a great player before taking on a marshmallow challenge in this Road To Roland Garros feature.
Wow Wow Wow
Australian Nick Kyrgios capped off a whirlwind day at Roland Garros by sharing his experience with fans in a post, titled "Wow Wow Wow", on his official website late Monday night.
“I am writing this pretty late as its been a full on day as you can imagine,” wrote the 18 year old. “I am so excited to get my first Grand Slam win under my belt against such an accomplished and successful warrior as Radek Stepanek, it really does feel great and although I knew I had a chance I wasn’t expecting to go out there and win.”
Kygrios detailed his victory and described his post-match activities, before expressing gratitude towards his support team and fans. “I have been completely blown away by all the great messages of support either on Twitter or my mobile, Facebook or email, it really means a lot.”
On The Rise
Sock and Kyrgios weren’t the only youngsters to win their first-round matches at Roland Garros. Nineteen-year-old Lucas Pouille, a native of Grande-Synthe in northern France, made his Grand Slam main draw debut with a 6-1, 7-6(2), 6-2 win over American Alex Kuznetsov.
“This is a first victory for me and it's fabulous,” said Pouille, who was supported by a group of 30 family members and friends on Court 7. “When I ended the match I was just on Cloud 9. But if that was the case, it was because people believed in me, believed I could go into the second round. So I'm very proud to win here, to go into the next round.”
The Frenchman’s next opponent will be Grigor Dimitrov. Does the success of those younger than him make the 22-year-old Bulgarian feel old? “No, not at all. Actually, I think that's great. And I think with every year that I'm on the tour and being able to play and compete, I think that actually makes you younger, but I think it doesn't work like this for everyone.”
Quote Of The Day
Dimitrov has been a focus of the paparazzi lately. When asked what he thought about them, the good-natured Bulgarian responded with a laugh, “Well, they've got to live, right? It is what it is. It will happen, so gotta be ready. Next time I'll wave maybe.”
Tweet Of The Day
Roger Federer used a rainy day in Paris to catch up on Twitter, including this exchange with John Isner:
Match Of The Day
Argentine Guido Pella recorded his first win at a Grand Slam tournament, going the distance to defeat Croatian Ivan Dodig 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 12-10 in three hours and 24 minutes. Pella upset Serbia's No. 2 and No. 3 players, Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki, last week in Dusseldorf, and will look to make it three for three when he faces Novak Djokovic in the second round.
