Novak Djokovic is one hell of a tennis player, especially when he gets motivated, and he demonstrated that against Tallon Griekspoor at the 2023 Paris Masters.
It was a very strange match for many reasons. Djokovic opened well, taking a 4-1 lead, but then collapsed out of nowhere to lose the opening set 4-6. That just doesn't happen if you're Djokovic, so when he took a brief medical timeout, many wondered whether something was up.
Now we know that he was fighting a stomach problem, but he started to play much better as the match went on, and when he clashed with the crowd in the third set - it was over.
The score was 4-4 in the final set when the crowd lightly booed Djokovic. He asked for more with a smile, and the Parisian crowd obliged.
It's a pretty well-known concept that crowds generally back the underdog against some of the best, and it was no different this time around. The crowd was behind Griekspoor, and he put up a good fight but booing only fired up Djokovic more.
He played amazingly in the next two games, winning 8 points in a row to close out the match 6-4 in the final set. It was proof of what Djokovic talked about often - playing against the crowd motivates him.
He's played against crowds all his life. When he was just starting out, most of the time, the crowd backed Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and that never changed.
He learned how to turn that in his favour, and that's what happened in Paris as well. It was also a good reminder of how good he truly can be even if he doesn't have his day.
We'll see whether Holger Rune is up for the task later today. It's a rematch from last year when Rune stunned Djokovic in the final, and we already know who the crowd will back.
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