Why does Novak Djokovic speak in French at Roland Garros?

At the French Open this year, the one thing Novak Djokovic has constantly done, besides breezing past his opponents, is to give his on-court interviews in French.

Djokovic is not just a master of tennis but also a gifted polyglot. He can speak as many as 11 languages - Serbian, English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, and Russian.

To explain why Djokovic was conducting his interviews in French, tennis journalist Christopher Clarey reshared the Serb's views on learning many languages.

Djokovic believes that knowing the local language is both respectful and courteous to the country and the people he was visiting. He also believes that a player will earn respect with such efforts.

“I think it's a question of respect. It's a matter of respect. When you are in a particular country to try to speak the language of that country. I think it actually, you know, allows you also to get closer to the people in a way for people to really respect you more as well. It's kind of a mutual respect. That's how I see it,” he said.

“So l think the more languages that you speak, I guess the more, yeah, respect you're going to get, the more value you will get from the relationships with people, just from your experience in a given country,” Djokovic added.

Djokovic further explained that he had a fascination to learn different languages from a young age.

“I was always attracted to languages from a very young age, and because I was training in Germany, had German, English in school, and then learned Italian pretty quickly. French, decent Spanish, as well,” he stated.

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Novak Djokovic reaches record 17th French Open quarterfinal, to face Karen Khachanov next

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 French Open.

Novak Djokovic has looked almost faultless at the 2023 French Open. He beat Aleksander Kovacevic, Marton Fucsovics, and Alejandro Davidovic Fokina in his opening three rounds.

In his Round of 16 clash on Sunday, June 4, Djokovic defeated Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to progress to the quarterfinals for the 17th time at Roland Garros, a tournament record.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in Paris this year and will next face Karen Khachanov, against whom he holds a lopsided 8-1 head-to-head record.

Khachanov's only win against Djokovic came in the 2018 Paris Masters final. The two have most recently met in the Round of 16 at the same tournament last year, where the Serbian emerged victorious 6-4, 6-1.