Novak Djokovic says wind and slippy conditions impacted his game at French Open – ‘I felt like Bambi on ice’

Novak Djokovic admits he struggled to adapt to the windy conditions at the French Open on Wednesday night and says he felt like “Bambi on ice” on the clay.

“The wind was blowing extremely hard from one end,” Djokovic told Barbara Schett and Tim Henman in The Cube.

“I actually thought of [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer’s exhibition match in Spain when they played half of the court grass, half clay. That was how I felt today. Like ‘Bambi on ice’ on one end.

“It’s quite windy these days but normally once the sun comes down the intensity of the wind also comes down but it wasn’t the case tonight. It’s tough for the timing and to find a right distance to the ball.

“He [Fucsovics] was playing well, I was up the entire first set, should have closed it out. Credit it to him for fighting and playing a high level.”

Eurosport tennis expert Henman said that wind is the worst condition to deal with when competing on clay.

“We can talk about so many different conditions but when we talk about the conditions the wind is the worst,” he said.

“When the wind is swirling around it’s bad on any surface but when the clay is flying around, getting in your mouth and in your eyes and ears it’s so difficult.

“Normally that means you have to play with more margin for error. You can’t play so close to the lines because the ball is going to be affected, you have to have more margin for error.

“It’s just an even bigger challenge mentally and physically.

“I think the wind has been consistent throughout qualifying, it’s been very present in the last three or four days. I think players will be having their fingers crossed that the conditions will be easier.”

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