Lucke of the male chart of Roland Garros and the trajectory of both in the tournament has led Pablo Carreño and Novak Djokovic to meet again this Wednesday (around 7:00 pm, Eurosport) in the quarterfinals only 31 after his duel with disqualification of the Serbian in the round of 16 of the US Open. The Spanish traced back in the first set (6-5) when the world’s number one lost his nerve and hit a ball back with the bad luck that he gave a chair judge. Shortly before, he had smashed another ball against one of the side billboards.
Recovered from the stick that meant he couldn’t fight to lift his 18th Grand Slam trophy, Djokovic has not suffered any day to win in Paris. In four games has not lost a set And it takes 7:32 of accumulated time on the track. Carreño has spent 9h: 26 and has only missed one heat, in the third round against Roberto Bautista. Physically they are like two drops of water, both are 1.88 and usually weigh between 77 and 78 kilos. The conditions this year in Paris favor them because they play flatter thanks to the lower bounce of the balls, especially with the backhand. And their numbers are even. Pablo gets something better, with 72% first, although he earns fewer points with them than Novak (77%). In the use of the seconds they are the same (56%) and the Balkan has more effectiveness in the break points (78%).
Miguel Angel Fernandez
The balance of your private duels the dominates Djokovic (3-1), although in his last match on clay (Monte Carlo 2017), Carreño won him a set. It will be the first time they have faced five in a Grand Slam, unless the match is abruptly interrupted again, something that nobody wants to happen. “I don’t think anything like New York will happen again. I’m just thinking of doing my best, trying to play a good game and have the opportunity to be close on the scoreboard. It is important to be there all the time and fight every point “, says the Asturian (18th in the world), who does not rule out surprise: “I’ll try to do my best again. It’s another good match, another good opportunity to be in other semi-finals. I know I play against number one. Why not beat him? I need to do my best and I’ll try”.
Djokovic warned after beating Monday Khachanov in the second round that Carreño is a player who puts his rivals “under a lot of pressure.” In Flushing Meadows, it was this characteristic of the Gijon that placed the leader of the ranking in the trigger shortly before the unfortunate accident that got him out of the tournament.
Carreno tried to recover yesterday from about Stomach problems that diminished him in his match against Altmaier. He felt better after a couple of days in which he felt “weird”, a fundamental factor to be able to aspire to victory this Wednesday: “With Novak I have to be 100%, against him I would not have a choice when I was wrong. I am not going to eat my head. If I succeed I will have my chances. He is winning with a lot of solvency and I want to enjoy the quarters, because the other time (in 2017) I couldn’t. “That year, he had to leave when he lost against Rafa Nadal due to an abdominal injury.
The probability of rain at the time of the game points to 20%, so it could be played outdoors and with cold, about 13 degrees. Carreño does not care much about the conditions because he has played “in all possible ways and at all hours.” In addition, he believes that although Djokovic benefits, “because the ball does not bounce so much and he catches it in the place he likes to play”, his tennis “is similar, with a flatter backhand.” “If I play well I will have my chances. It is an opportunity to show and show myself at what level I am. The winner will face Rublev or Tsitsipas, who are measured first.
