"Trying to understand why the answer is constantly no" - Novak Djokovic clarifies frustration with French Open groundsmen over refusal to sweep court

Novak Djokovic addressed the reason for his frustration with the French Open groundsmen for their refusal to sweep the court. The Serb suffered an awful fall during his fourth-round match at the clay-court Major due to the poor condition of the court.

Top seed Djokovic staged a remarkable comeback to triumph 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 over 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo in four hours and 39 minutes to secure his spot in the French Open quarterfinals. With this win, the World No.1 surpassed Roger Federer to become the player with the most wins at Grand Slams.

During the final set of the match, the Serb suffered a nasty fall on the court after slipping. Visibly frustrated, he directed his anger towards the ground staff and tournament supervisor, sarcastically praising the court conditions.

“Great job from you guys. You know better than us. It’s not slippery at all. Not dangerous at all. Well done supervisor and everyone. Ground staff, well done," he said.

During the post-match press conference, Novak Djokovic revealed the reason behind his outburst at the ground staff. He explained that he had requested the chair umpire for the court to be swept and to be evened out the court due to it becoming slippery, only to be denied.

"I just asked for an explanation. I'm not pointing fingers at someone, blaming whoever, a group or an individual. I'm just trying to understand the whole process. What is the damage to the court? We sweep it anyway, we do it with our feet before we serve. I know a lot of players do it. They either clean the line or the space in front where they are going to bounce the ball. I just don't see how that's damaging to the court," he said [at 8:02].

The 24-time Grand Slam champion stated that he was confused over the denial, as players typically swept small sections of the court with their feet before serving.

"I actually see that's helpful to us players at least bringing a little bit more clay, evening the clay behind the court and just reducing, slightly, the possibility of slipping because when you're moving during the point you're removing the clay and then all of a sudden some places you have absolutely no clay it's just concrete basically," he added [8:34].

Novak Djokovic said that he reiterated his attempts to seek clarification from the ground staff and chair umpire but became frustrated after their repeated refusals to address the issue.

"I'm just trying to understand why it is so complicated to do that and why is that the answer is constantly no. I'm sure that the grounds people have their hands full and I know they're working very hard. I'm not saying that they are doing it the wrong way, absolutely not. They're doing their best but I'm trying to understand, if a player is feeling a certain way and then what else do we need to wait for that to happen," he said [at 9:13].

Novak Djokovic will face Casper Ruud at French Open 2024 QF

Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud at the 2023 French Open

Novak Djokovic will take on seventh seed Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals of the 2024 French Open.

Djokovic began his title defense at Roland Garros by defeating wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round. He then went on to secure victories over Roberto Carballes Baena before surviving scares from Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo.

Meanwhile, Ruud kicked off his campaign by defeating qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves in the first round. He then survived a scare from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round, winning 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Ruud secured four-set wins over 28th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry (6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2) and most recently, 12th seed Taylor Fritz (7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2) to reach the French Open quarterfinals for the third year on the trot.

Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud have faced each other six times on the ATP Tour previously, with the Serb securing five wins. However, the Norwegian won the most recent encounter between the two in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters this season, triumphing 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.