French Open: Novak Djokovic’s issues are nothing when people are ‘starving to death’

Serbian progresses to the third round while
Alexander Zverev struggles to understand the Yorkshire accent

One-Minute Read

Speaking after his second-round victory over Jaume Munar
at the French Open yesterday, the Serbian former world No.1 was
asked how tough it was on court against the qualifier from
Spain.

Djokovic, 31, is struggling for his best form after
battling back from elbow surgery and the 20th seed said: “To sit
here and talk about how tough it is and you have people starving to
death, for me there is no point talking about that [his
issues].

“It’s just the way it is. As an athlete I have to face
these challenges. I’m not playing at the level I wish
to but I’m trying not to give up.”

Despite the challenges The Guardian’s Kevin Mitchell says that
Djokovic “stands tall among stuttering pretenders” to Rafael
Nadal’s crown.

Mitchell writes: “He could get to the quarter‑finals; once
there, he might even find another gear or two, which was his
trademark in his pomp. Certainly the former champion is in shape
comparable to that of younger contenders in Alexander Zverev and
Grigor Dimitrov.”

After the 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-4 win over Munar, 2016 French
Open winner Djokovic will next face 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut
in the third round in Paris.

Zverev loves the Yorkshire accent

After his victory against Dusan Lajovic, Germany’s
Alexander Zverev faced the media to answer questions about his
chances in Paris – the big issue was he could not understand one
reporter’s Yorkshire accent.

The second seed was asked “do you think Roland-Garros
could be a turning point?”, to which a confused Zverev politely
replied to the Yorkshireman: “Where you from, buddy? I didn’t
understand a word.”

Following the exchange, Zverev did promise the reporter
that if a future tournament was held in Yorkshire he would go there
because of the accent.