After clinching his 100th career title, Novak Djokovic has now set his eyes on grabbing his 25th Grand Slam title in Paris. Previously, while sharing his thoughts about the recent victory in Geneva, he said, “Obviously winning the 100th title, that is a nice milestone, of course, definitely much needed for my game and confidence level coming into Roland Garros.” He claimed that he needed to win some matches on clay to get things going in the big tournament. At the 2025 French Open, he got off to a winning start, defeating America’s Mackenzie McDonald in the first round by 6-3,6-3,6-3. However, despite that victory, his fans are not pleased with a recent decision that was made by the tournament organizers surrounding his next match against Corentin Moutet. What’s that decision, though, and what are the fans saying on this?
With this win against McDonald, the Serb has now improved to a 20-0 record in first-round matches at the Roland Garros. He hasn’t lost a set in the Paris opener since 2010. Following this impressive victory in his first match at the Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic said, “I try to enjoy every moment on this very special and beautiful court. I feel good, clearly, even more here because I’m reliving the memories of last year’s Olympics, the last time I played on this court. [They are] beautiful emotions.“
He further went on to add, “It was a solid match. I know that he can play to a better standard than today, but I am very happy with what I produced.” After having withdrawn from the QF last year, due to an injury, Novak Djokovic vows to make a stronger run this season, and guess what? His win against Carlos Alcaraz at the Olympic gold medal match will surely boost his confidence at this iconic venue.
Talking about venues, well, the three-time champion (2016,2021,2023) has now been shunted to the second show court at the Roland Garros after failing to secure a spot at the Philippe-Chatrier for his next match. Instead of him, the current world number one, Jannik Sinner, will face the French legend, Richard Gasquet, in the day’s session match at that venue. It was always a big challenge for the organizers to plan for Thursday’s order of play with plenty of superstars and French tennis players in action on the same day.As things stand, not only Novak Djokovic but also Coco Gauff will be playing on Court Suzanne-Lenglen now.
Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will play on Lenglen tomorrow.
Sinner-Gasquet (of course) and Draper-Monfils (night session) got Chatrier.
Fonseca on court 14
The entire OOP is amazing tbh. pic.twitter.com/1HwEmPuF2V
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 28, 2025
It will be the first time he will be playing at the stadium since 2022. What are the fans saying about this, though?
Tennis fans aren’t too pleased seeing Novak Djokovic pushed down to Suzanne Lenglen
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the scheduling of the 2025 French Open. Even on Tuesday, the organizers faced a nightmare when they published the next day’s schedule and then, within a few hours, Hugo Gaston pulled out of the draw. Now, after seeing one of the most decorated players pushed to Suzzane-Lenglen, a fan wrote, “a unique lack of respect towards #Djokovic and tennis. Imagine at the end of his career seeing nadal or federer who have done and won even less than him not on the main court, there I said well, you can only imagine. #RG25 #RolandGarros2025.”
Just a few days ago, Rafael Nadal received a tribute from the French Open for his enormous contributions to the sport and now, one of his biggest rivals gets pushed out of the bigger court. Reacting to this strange call, another fan commented, “Djokovic moutet deserved chatreir ..The atmosphere would have been crazy. No one wants to see yannik-gasquet “
In a recent interview, while sharing his thoughts about giving his best in every tournament, Novak Djokovic said, “History in this sport has given me everything in my life, it means a lot to me. I always try to make history where I can… In all the tournaments I play, all the practices, all the matches, and especially during the biggest tournaments in the world. There is an opportunity to make more history, and that is one of the biggest motivations I have for competitions, for continuing to work and better myself.” Was it justified to put the 24-time Grand Slam champion at Suzanne Lenglen? Another fan showcased annoyance, saying, “Djoko on Lenglen where is the respect?“
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the lack of women’s matches being scheduled for the night session. For example, Ons Jabeur criticized Roland Garros, saying, “I don’t think they have daughters. It’s sad we are still seeing this. In Europe, it’s unfortunate for women’s sports in general. Whoever is making the decision, I don’t think they have daughters, because I don’t think they want to treat their daughters like this. It’s a bit ironic. They don’t show women’s sport, they don’t show women’s tennis, and then they ask the question, ‘Yeah, but mostly they watch men’. Of course, they watch men more because you show men more. It’s a shame from the Federation, a shame from [Amazon] Prime, that they made such a contract like this. A lot of great players, they deserve to be there.”
Now, this controversy has added more fuel to the fire. Highlighting Novak Djokovic’s ill fate, another fan wrote, “Djokovic, who is the only one who beat Nadal and then won at RG, they put him on Lenglen. What poor things.“
Interesting Fact: Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in the QF of the 2015 French Open by 7-5,6-3,6-1.
Talking about this scheduling woes, even Coco Gauff highlighted, “To be honest, prove me wrong, but I don’t think any girl wants to play after the 8:15 match.” That’s more about the time, now commenting on the venue issues, another fan said he was a bit surprised with this decision. “I didn’t think they would put Djokovic on the Lenglen, but okay,” the fan wrote.
Novak Djokovic has faced Corentin Moutet two times in his career, and he has won both of those matches. Do you think the Serb can keep these things aside and come up with a win against the Frenchman in the next round?
The post French Open’s Decision Under Fire for Disrespecting Novak Djokovic as He Faces Big Change With Coco Gauff appeared first on EssentiallySports.
