Vacherot surrenders to Djokovic: "He took me to the limit"

Valentin Vacherot has battled Novak Djokovic in the first round of the ATP Paris, as he witnessed the Serb come back in a match that he had in hand after both players suffered physical issues during the duel. At the end of the match, the Monegasque player surrendered to Nole, who at 39 years old continues to show why he is the GOAT.

Vacherot had just won the ATP Basel a couple of days ago, and after winning the first set in a tiebreak, he had several break points at 4-4 in the second set that could have put him a step and a half into the second round. However, Djokovic held on and pushed Valentin to the limit, who acknowledged that it was more of a mental issue than a physical one that led him to succumb to the determination and resilience of Novak, as he revealed in statements collected by L'Equipe.

“At that moment, I wanted to crush everything. I was frustrated, but that's tennis, congratulations to him! He didn’t make a single error, he pushed me to my limit, even to my break point, and mentally I had no energy left. Physically, yes, but it was my mind that failed me. I could feel that I was playing better and wanting to make fewer errors,” he stated.

Vacherot reveals what let him down in his defeat to Djokovic

Vacherot believes the key to his defeat was his lack of experience in these types of encounters against the best players on the circuit, as gradually, Novak wove his web until he caused the fall of the Monegasque, who ended up losing 6-1 in the third set to a Serbian player who went from less to more and relied on the crowd to achieve the comeback.

"I still haven’t played against enough elite players, I haven’t faced Sinner, and even though I played against Alcaraz once, I felt a bit of that Monte Carlo semifinal euphoria on my home court. Facing Novak is a different matter. There might not have been many people in the crowd cheering for me, but they got motivated, and he played off that. You’re playing against a mountain, not just a tennis player. For a good part of the match, I managed to focus on myself, but after a set and a break, and then a break back, when he stops making errors, you start to look at him more. And that’s when it becomes even harder. Because he’s the most successful player in tennis." 

Vacherot explains what has changed in Djokovic in recent years

There came a point where Vacherot found himself facing a wall, stating that "if he is inspired, he won't make mistakes. Like all the best players. So, to win points, either you hit the ball 35 times and hope he tires out physically, or you try to win a point. The problem is that to achieve a winning point, you must be perfectly positioned. But when fatigue sets in and the match goes on, things become complicated."

Moreover, the Monegasque player concluded his statements by highlighting the significant change that Djokovic has experienced in recent years of his career. "When I watch his matches now, Novak plays faster than when he was at his best, because if the match lasts three hours, it becomes complicated for him. He still has those moments when he doesn’t stop hitting the ball within the court, over and over again. Sometimes it’s not astonishing quality, sometimes it’s magnificent ball quality. And with that, he still manages to beat anyone in every tournament; he won an ATP 500 a month ago at 39 years old, and now he still has chances in the Masters." Another display from the Serbian player, who leaves even his rivals in awe.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Vacherot se rinde a Djokovic: "Me llevó al límite"