Novak Djokovic 'won't sleep much' after disruptive French Open match

Novak Djokovic played through the Champions League final

Novak Djokovic was given the job nobody wanted at Roland Garros on Saturday night - playing through the Champions League final. Despite telling organisers he was keen to watch PSG take on Inter Milan, the No. 6 seed was given the 8.15pm night session slot for his match against qualifier Filip Misolic. The 15,000 fans inside Court Philippe-Chatrier let their hair down on Saturday night, repeatedly cheering PSG’s five goals, starting a Mexican wave that delayed Djokovic’s service game, and sometimes cheering in the middle of points. Addressing the disruptive atmosphere, Djokovic said everyone was in for “not much sleep tonight”. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

After beating Corentin Moutet in the second round, Djokovic shared his wish to watch the Champions League final and jokingly hoped French Open organisers would listen. But his request went ignored, and he headlined the single-match night ticket on Chatrier, racing through in a little over two hours to beat world No. 153 Misolic 6-3 6-4 6-2 and getting off the court before the full-time whistle in Munich. There were interruptions throughout the evening. Fireworks went off nearby whenever PSG scored a goal - which was a lot. It was a lively atmosphere, but at one point, Djokovic had to ask the umpire to make an announcement when spectators called out mid-rally. After the match, the three-time champion here admitted he was surprised the home team had been so dominant.

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“I don't know if it was good for me to get this scheduled slot, because it was interesting,” Djokovic smiled. “The crowd was really following the game, and I could hear when they scored, and it was way too many times that they were celebrating. “I was like, ‘Wow, I mean, there's a lot of goals from Paris, I mean, what's going on?’ So now I heard it's 5-0, so it's quite a result, to be honest.” Djokovic, like many players, prefers the day session here. But he knew he would have to take the primetime slot at least once and was happy to cave on Saturday night. Now, he’s expecting a late one with celebrations taking place across the city. He continued: “But yeah, I mean, night sessions are always different, you know, they're always louder, the people are always more excited. Everything is very loud and different from the day session.

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