We really believed it. When he took the first set and then broke from the start of the third against a still a little rusty Novak Djokovic, it was no longer so incongruous to think that Luca Van Assche was going to become the eighteenth French player to beat a number 1 in the world in practice, the second youngest (18 years old) after Richard Gasquet who was a few days younger during his famous success against Roger Federer in Monte-Carlo in 2005. But the Serb was able to raise his voice to finally crack his opponent and win 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 in 2h38, thus successfully entering the ATP 250 tournament on clay in Banja Luka, a tournament whose Djokovic family, let us remember, is owner.
To write that Van Assche came close to the feat would be a tad exaggerated given the dryness (in the score) of the last two sets, and so much the road that remained to him until victory still seemed long. But he is not oversold to say, on the other hand, that he pushed his prestigious opponent to his limits. You only have to see the way the Serb went to the coal to seek his victory, belching his hoarse gasps from days of hard work, and clenching his fist more often than not.
We don’t necessarily know more, after this match, about Djokovic’s real state of form (and the real state of his elbow, still protected by a sleeve), who was quite worrying at the start with unforced errors repeatedly, especially on the forehand side. But we still know a little more about Luca Van Assche’s guts and game intelligence.
At almost 19 years old (May 11), the young Frenchman does not impress with his forehand, his backhand or his serve. But beyond the tactical accuracy and the vision of the game that we know him, he really impresses, on the other hand, by his emotional maturity, and the way he had to play this match as if it were a match lambda, not impressed by the monster facing him and the atmosphere (necessarily) totally against him.
The French bravely played his part without ever panicking in this match, and he could have been when he was unbroken while serving for the set at 5-4, 30-15. Behind, Van Assche saved three set points with panache, before succeeding in a much more controlled decisive game than his opponent, bogged down by the heavy conditions (“the slowest in which I have ever played”, he will say then at the microphone), often beaten in the exchange (a shame) and trying to seek his salvation via amortized not necessarily beneficial given the eye and the liveliness of his young rival.
Of course, I can play better than that. But a win is a win and I’m glad I got away with it.
Novak Djokovic
In the end, if “LVA” lost this match, it was primarily because Djokovic did not want to lose it and was able to tighten all the bolts when necessary, especially after having (again) lost his entry service. in the third set by being caught, for the umpteenth time, by a counter-amortization. It’s also because he seemed to be dropping a little physically, after having had an already very long first round against Stan Wawrinka, while Djokovic was gaining momentum.
This is also a reassuring aspect of Novak Djokovic’s match of the day, in addition to the four aces he scored in the Bosnian “quagmire”, a sign a priori that his serve (and therefore his elbow) were not so bad today. “I had a lot of trouble moving the ball forward, in these conditions, for a set and a half,” he noted for his part. “Then once I found my rhythm, it was better. Of course, I can play better than that. But a win is a win and I’m glad I got away with it.”
A victory which allows him to qualify for the round of 16 where he will find Dusan Lajovic or another Frenchman, Grégoire Barrère.
