Olga Danilovic is proud to reach the French Open third round and she also opened up about being in the same tournament as her illustrious compatriot Novak Djokovic.
The Serb achieved a second-round win over Jasmine Paolini on Thursday, June 1. The 22-year-old left-hander took the first set for the loss of just two games before reeling off the last six games for a 6-2, 7-5 win. Having won the W100 ITF World Tennis Tour event in Madrid last week, Danilovic is riding a 10-match and 20-set winning streak.
Meanwhile, Djokovic kept alive his bid for a historic 23rd Grand Slam singles title by seeing off Marton Fucsovics in the French Open second round a day earlier.
Danilovic reached the third round of a Major for the first time. After the win, she said in her press conference that she feels proud to keep the Serbian flag in Paris flying high along with Djokovic:
"I think I'm proud to be in third round, and I'm still with Novak in the same tournament. So that's nice."
She added that she idolized former WTA stars from Serbia - Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic in the late 2000s when Djokovic was emerging on the scene:
"That was very long time ago. I was maybe five or six. I definitely remember. I mean, we had Ana and Jelena for such a long time and they were my idols when I was little, watching them. They were the ones, we were watching them. Also Novak and Viktor and Janko and everyone."
Danilovic next plays seventh seed Ons Jabeur for a place in the second week.
"I don't need tactics of any kind" - Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic was in an entertaining mood at the press conference following his second-round win over Fucsovics.
The 22-time Major winner had already stirred up controversy following a politically charged comment on a television camera a few days ago. He was in a jolly mood after beating Fucsovics to reach the third round.
He was asked what he gets told by his team during matches. The Serb said that oftentimes they don't understand the predetermined signs for various types of fruits and mix things up. He said:
"Bananas, dates and water. I mean I don’t understand. I ask them every time, and they don’t understand me. So I show them this (gestures). It means banana, this means date and this means water. And they don’t understand. I don’t need tactics of any kind. What am I going to do with that?”
“They bring me an apple … Who wants an apple? Then I find a pear but can’t find a date. Unbelievable," he added, much to the amusement of assembled journalists.
The 36-year-old next takes on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the fourth round on Friday, June 2.
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