ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2026

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/V. Royer

6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Two matches in, both reasonably long.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Reasonably long.

Q. They're not, like, five hours, but you've had a good amount of time on court. How are you feeling about your level and kind of your physicality at this point?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know if I am liking or agreeing with your comment that it's reasonably long. When you play a three-and-a-half hour match on clay, it's long and very exhausting. At least in my opinion.

So, yeah, you know, physically spent quite a bit of energy today on a very hot day. Very challenging conditions. Yeah, it was obviously my fault I didn't finish in straight sets, because I break up twice in the third match point. Just too passive on those points, and he took his chances, and he got the crowd support he was looking for.

Obviously momentum shifted, but I managed to kind of regroup in the fourth. You know, it was very challenging. The scoreline maybe doesn't do justice. It was just a very, very tough match.

I think he was playing on a high level. He was pumped. You could see it from the first point. Like, really with clear intentions what he needs to do tactically. He's a fighter.

I never faced him before, but I saw some of the matches he's played. He's a great fighter, competes well. So just a very good win for me. Obviously not ideal that I stayed almost four hours on the court, but yeah, it's, of course, positive when you win.

Q. I'm writing a piece about smashes, the overhead.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: You're talking to the wrong person (laughing).

Q. Over the years you've joked about your smash. It's improved a lot over the years as well. I'm curious about your experience with that shot.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Thank you, but I don't know if my coaches would agree with you, or myself.

Q. Can you explain your experience with it?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I had a Djoko smash name for it right now I think by my fans, which is not that great, you know, to have a Djoko smash.

Yeah, it hasn't been really the shot that I was so confident in the last 10, 15 years of my career. Maybe early on, yes, but I don't know. I'm not a big fan of smash, I'd say, let's call it.

Q. Why not?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I think I just explained it to you. I think if you watch some of my matches, you'll understand why.

Q. We don't know which one of the young guys you're playing next, but it's going to be one of them. I curious what you see in that sort of, I don't know what you would call it, next, next, next generation player at this point of sort of what they bring to the court, how they've trained, and how prepared they are to compete at this level?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I watched a little bit the end of the third. Prizmic was two sets to love up, and now it's two sets all and a break for Fonseca, which seems to be in the driving seat for winning the match. He seems fresher and better.

Look, Fonseca has been praised so much in the last couple of years. You know, I think his potential and quality as a tennis player is obvious, no doubt about it. He's got, you know, big Brazilian support anywhere he goes. I think he's a big-stage player. He really loves the occasion, loves to play night sessions.

He played a great match with Sinner I think earlier this year at Indian Wells. He won against Rublev I think in Australia, straight sets. So he can definitely step up in the big occasion and deliver big shots, big game.

On the other hand, Prizmic, I played him and lost few weeks ago. I lost to him. Obviously I feel better and play better now than I have in Rome, but still, he's another grinder, fighter.

I played him years ago in first round Australian Open, and I thought it was a tough four-setter. Only two matches I played, I played really tough matches versus him.

I honestly had a bit more expectations and thought that he's going to make a breakthrough a bit earlier. I know he struggled with injuries and stuff. I think he really possesses a lot of qualities. It's just he's not able to get that consistency going.

Let's see. Whoever I play, it's going to be, again, another tough match in terms of physicality, exchanges, rallies. I don't know if it's going to be night or day. That will also, you know, determine the way I play maybe in certain things against him because of the ball bounce, because of the speed of the court, and et cetera.

I think in few days' time, again, another extremely hot day. These days have been really, really very challenging for I think a lot of players to play on the court.

Q. Staying on that subject about the heat, obviously you've dealt with it a lot in Australia --

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah.

Q. -- and New York, but they never had quite the span of the heat wave during this tournament. Do you think they maybe need to revisit the protocol here? I don't even think closing the roof is an option here.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I really don't understand why they don't have the heat rule. I actually didn't know. I thought that there is in every slam, but then someone told me that Roland Garros has no heat rule.

Q. I think they do. It's just that the roof is not part of the rule.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: They do? So it is true that they have a rule it. Which is what?

Q. It's the wet ball temperature. I think it has to get to...

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Another index formula combination type of thing? Okay. I mean, look, I don't know, it's always a discussion, I guess. But then if you close one roof, then all of the others are playing. It's not fair also.

Why would you close center court and then everyone else has to be playing on the heat? I wouldn't agree with that even though, of course, for me it would be great if I play on center to have that roof closed on such a hot day.

But, yeah, I think, I don't know, in Australia we have experienced. I have personally experienced a few times. We have seen in last years that there were some delays of play, like for an hour, two hours, three hours until that upper level bar that crossed the kind of index regulation comes back down.

I think that's fair. Honestly, with Grand Slams it shouldn't be an issue, generally, because we have so many courts. We have lights. You know, there's no issue. You have big courts. You can play the matches. You can reschedule them some other courts and have still the crowd in the stadium and everything.

On the other tournaments where you don't have these kind of facilities and conditions, then that's a different discussion, obviously, but here -- and we have some tournaments, I think, on ATP Tour where, for example, Umag in Croatia where matches are starting later in the afternoon, you know, 5:00 p.m. or something, and they play until deep at night.

Yeah, is that ideal to go over midnight and have? Yeah, it's not. But if you have, you know, certain days that you have extreme heat and conditions, then maybe that's something to consider.

Q. Rafael Pagonis, the Greek junior, was here for your match today. I know you have seen him several times in Athens.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes.

Q. You give him some tips sometimes. So I was wondering what you think of him and if you are able to talk to him in Greek maybe?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not yet, but hopefully. I still have to step up my Greek game. I've been lucky with languages, but Greek is quite challenging, I must say.

Yes, very nice. Very nice boy. Father, family, team around him, good people. Like, really nice people. So I like that primarily.

Then, of course, he's got really great game for someone who is only 14. A lot of potential. I've seen him. We've trained together a few times, but also next to each other many days in a row actually now before Roland Garros.

So I've seen him. I've seen what he does with his coach. I've seen how dedicated he is, but he's a boy. He smiles. He laughs. He has a good energy, and I like that.

I told the whole team, his father, that I'm here. You know, I'm in Athens, you know, and so I'm always available for any tips, and his father was joking around that once I retire that I can join the team in some role. I said he's going to have to wait for a very long time (laughing). He's going to retire before me probably.

But, no, jokes aside, of course, he's a nice boy. I really like him, and I follow his career now more that I get to know him.