Novak Djokovic paid tribute to his late childhood coach Jelena Gencic, who passed away two days ago, and hopes he can go “all the way” in Paris to honour her memory.
Gencic, who discovered the world No1 as a six-year-old at a ski resort in the Serbian mountain Kopaonik, was one of the most influential figures in the career of Djokovic, who fought past his grief and a tough Philipp Kohlschreiber in the fourth round yesterday 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“It hasn't been easy, but this is life,” said the top seed after his win.
“Life gives you things, takes away close people in your life, and Jelena was my first coach, like my second mother. We were very close throughout my whole life, and she taught me a lot of things that are part of me, part of my character today, and I have nicest memories of her.
“She's one of the most incredible people I ever knew. So it's quite emotional. I know that her spirit will be always with me and always on the tennis court, because this is what she always loved to do. It's her favourite place in the world, and I'll make sure that her legacy continues.
“I feel even more responsible now to go all the way in this tournament. “Now I feel in her honour that I need to go all the way.”
Djokovic explained how the passing of his grandfather last year during the Monte Carlo tournament has somehow taught him how to deal better with such losses and admits he is handling things better.
Haas continues march
In the quarter-finals, he faces Tommy Haas, who defeated the Serb in their last meeting in Miami in what Djokovic describes as the worst match he has played in the last three years.
Haas became the oldest Grand Slam quarter-finalist since Andre Agassi at the 2005 US Open when he eased past a frustrated Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in 74 minutes.
Youzhny, who at 0-3 down in the second set took out his frustration on his racquet, smashing it nine times against his bench before receiving a code violation warning, posed zero threat to the 35-year-old German and blames himself for crashing out of the tournament.
The Russian said: “I gave him too many chances, so that's why he played well.”
Haas, who is the first German to reach the quarter-finals in Paris since Bernd Karbacher and Michael Stich in 1996, is playing his 52nd Grand Slam and is happy to have booked his first ever last eight spot in 12 appearances at the French Open.
“I thought I played really well from my side,” said the 12th-seeded German. “There was a point when I felt like maybe he's struggling a bit. Winning eight or nine games in a row can sometimes hurt a player because they start to struggle and start to think a lot, which I think was his case.”
When told he was the oldest French Open quarter-finalist since 1971, Haas said: “These are cool stats sometimes to hear and to know about. Makes you proud in the end of the day. But what I'm really proud is that I reached the quarters here for the first time, not knowing if that was ever going to be possible. And to have done that and to have a chance to play a quarter-final match here, it's a great success for me.
“For me it's been a great ride. I feel like I'm riding a wave that I hope to continue as long as I can.”
Haas is eager to take on Djokovic and has a decent 3-4 head-to-head record against.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges in tennis if not the biggest one right now playing against the No. 1 player in the world, somebody that's very, very eager to win this title, one that's missing in his collection,” said Haas.
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