Novak Djokovic has managed to stun fans with his actions both on and off the court across his long and illustrious career, and whilst last night marked a miraculous turnaround for the former, the latter stole the show.
Speaking in his post-match interview, the 37-year-old was thankful to a French Open crowd that has been criticised throughout the week.
After all, David Goffin revealed he had been spat at during his first-round match with Giovanni Mpetshi Pericardia, whilst Iga Swiątek has also suggested they needed to be quieter during the points.
But, as magnanimous as ever, Djokovic would instead thank them for their unwavering support into the early hours of the morning.
However, it was the way he went about it that has truly drawn acclaim.
Tennis fans are all saying the same thing about Novak Djokovic’s speech
‘I’ll try to speak in French because you deserve that,’ Djokovic began, in perfect French.
One of the many upsides of the world number one is his proficiency with so many languages, and he showcased one of many in front of a scattered Roland Garros crowd.
Well, they lapped it up, and so too did the many watching from home.
One fan even wrote his own reply in French, which translated to: ‘Even us, the community of those who have always preferred the other 2 to #Djoko, we are obliged after a match like this to show respect. Well done.’
Then, another fan wrote what we were all thinking: ‘If Novak wasn’t a tennis champion player, he’d be some sort of linguistic genius. Dude can speak so many languages fluently.’
Novak Djokovic is both a linguistic and tennis genius
Last night, against an inspired Lorenzo Musetti who pushed him all the way, we got to see the breadth of all of Djokovic’s talents as he came out on top of their five-set epic, 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-0.
There were times when he seemed poised to fall to another early exit, thus resulting in his title drought continuing, but whether it be the crowd that he thanked or some kind of energy he summoned from within, it was imperious and evident in the final two sets.
The Italian won just three games across that period to Djokovic’s 12, and resigned him to defeat.
Not only that, but in speaking French, the Serbian would also showcase his other well-documented talent.
This marks one of the many languages he does speak, with the reported list of fluent languages reading: Serbian, Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, and Japanese.
Not bad for a 24-time Grand Slam champion.
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