Valentin Royer recently accused Novak Djokovic of playing mind games after suffering defeat against him at the 2026 French Open. The Serb is now gearing up for his upcoming match at Roland Garros.
Djokovic and Royer locked horns with each other in the second round of the tournament on May 27 at the Philippe-Chatrier court. The Serb dominated the match from the start, winning the first two sets of the match. His opponent won the third set; however, the Serb bounced back in the deciding set of the match, registering a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-3 victory, ending the French player’s game early in his home.
Following this loss, Royer sat for a post-match press conference, where he accused the 39-year-old of playing mind games amid their showdown. Opening up about his thoughts on the Serb’s game and calling it ‘typical,’ he said:
“I saw him complaining a bit and stretching. Typical Novak. He does that to try and see how the opponent will react,” said Royer. ‘
Novak Djokovic defeated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the opening round of the tournament to advance to the second round, where he got the better of Royer. After this clash, he is now preparing for his upcoming match against Joao Fonseca in the third round.
Novak Djokovic weighed in on his match against Valentin Royer at the French Open
After claiming an impressive victory at the second round of the French Open, Novak Djokovic spoke to the media in the press conference, where he was asked about his thoughts on playing ‘reasonably long matches’ so far in the tournament. The Serb lashed out at the reporter for calling his matches ‘reasonably’ long and said that, according to him, playing for three and a half hours is actually long and ‘exhausting.’
Sharing his opinion on the match, the 39-year-old said:
“I don’t know if I’m liking or agreeing with your comment that it’s like reasonably long. When you play a three and a half hour match on clay, it’s long and very exhausting. Uh 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 had break up twice in the third match point,” said Novak Djokovic.
“Just too passive in those points and he took his chances and he got the crowd support he was looking for and obviously momentum shifted but I managed to kind of regroup in the fourth. So, you know, it was it was very challenging. You know, the score line 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.”
Also read:
“I Don’t Care” – Naomi Osaka’s Opponent Goes Scorched Earth On Her Glitzy French Open Outfit Reveal
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