Falling at the end of Cerundolo’s suspense, the world number 1 complained about the state of the pitch which would have caused his injury during the match.
On the condition of his knee
“I’ve had slight discomfort in my right knee for about two weeks. But it wasn’t really an injury to worry about. There hasn’t been a problem before today. Of course, finishing late two days ago didn’t help, neither the sleep nor the recovery. But I felt very good starting the match. In the third game of the second set, I slipped. It affected my knee. I started to feel pain. I requested treatment from the physiotherapist, a medical termination. It disrupted my game for two innings, two and a half innings. I didn’t want the exchanges to be too long. Every time he made a sudden drop or changed direction, I didn’t feel well enough to run. To the point where I wondered if I should continue or not.
On managing his injury during the match
“I had medical treatment. After the third set, I asked for another medicine. The maximum dose, which takes about 30, 35 minutes, to take effect. Which brought me to the end of the fourth set, where things started to look better for me. I started to feel less restricted in my movements. The whole fifth set I didn’t feel any pain. I know for him it’s also not easy to play against someone who doesn’t move well for two sets and then starts playing well and moving well after. But the effect of the medication may not last very long. I have concerns for the future.”
On dealing with injuries in his career
“I’ve had times in my career where I’ve had muscle tears, or other problems. Nevertheless, I played tournaments. I’m not the only one. Many players are playing with different injuries. They take anti-inflammatories. There is also adrenaline that helps you move forward. Sometimes it’s for a match or two, sometimes it’s for the entire tournament. The good thing in a Grand Slam is that you have an intermediate day, which allows you to heal better, I would say. To tell the truth, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, if I will be able to go and play on the field.
On the humidity of the center court
“The circumstances, and the weather situation this year, are special. There was a lot of rain, humidity, heavy and muddy conditions on the courts. Humidity impacts the surface, it is a living surface. As alive as the grass, but on the grass you can’t do much. But you can have an effect on clay by working the ground. And when it comes to the quality of the courts, Roland Garros is the best in the world. But due to the conditions, which affected the terrain, it became very slippery. I hurt my knee today because of that, because I slipped a lot. Everyone slides on clay, that’s for sure. But I slipped too many times. Of course, I have an aggressive movement, I have quick and dynamic changes of direction. But I fell on clay, on grass, many times in my life. But this was too much, too many times today. »
On his discussion with the referee
“I discussed with her asking: Would it be possible to sweep the field, when we change sides, every two or three times? She said she would check, she spoke to the supervisor of the people who take care of the grounds. The answer was no. I asked for an explanation from the supervisor. I don’t see how sweeping would damage the court. Today I fell, I survived. I won. But will I be able to play the next match? I don’t know the severity of my injury. Could we have avoided it? Maybe.”
