By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday October 7, 2020

After his four-set loss to Novak Djokovic, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta says he thinks Djokovic was playing mind games with him when he asked for the trainer to deal with physical issues he was encountering during the Serb’s 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 victory on Wednesday in Paris.

"He didn't surprise me [that he asked for a medical timeout],” Carreno Busta said. “It's a good thing. It's a sign that he is losing and that I was playing well, because he always does that. It's something that he has been doing for years. When he is down, he asks for the trainer.”



Carreno Busta says he's not really sure what the situation is with Djokovic.

“Probably the last years he's always doing this when he has problems on court,” Carreno Busta also said. “I don't know, maybe it's the pressure or something that he needs to do it. But, I mean, he continues playing normal, no? I don't know if he's really in pain or he has mental. Ask him.”

Djokovic struggled with neck and shoulder issues before the match and came out with tape covering the back of his neck for the match, which was played in chilly early evening conditions in Paris.

He talked about it in his press conference, and said that he felt much better once he got the blood flowing during his match.

“I had some neck issues and some shoulder issues,” Djokovic said. “I'll just say that. I mean, I don't want to get really too much into it. Obviously I'm still in the tournament, so I don't want to reveal too much. I'm feeling okay. I think, as I said, as the match progressed, I warmed up by body, and the pain kind of faded away. It allowed me to play better and better and feel better.”

Last night, after enduring the latest finish in Roland Garros history, Rafael Nadal commented that playing in such chilly conditions could be dangerous for players.

“Is too cold to play,” he said. “Honestly, is very, very cold to play tennis, no? I know football players plays under these conditions, but is little bit different. They are all the time moving. We stop, we come back, we stop on the changeovers. It is a sport that you are stopped in a lot of moments, no? I think is little bit dangerous for the body play with these very heavy conditions.”

Both Nadal and Djokovic have overcome all the difficult scenarios that come with playing Roland Garros in early October, and the pair are one match from setting a final in Paris.

Nadal will face Diego Schwartzman in the semifinals on Friday; Djokovic will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Both are likely hoping to play the first match, in order to avoid the chilly night conditions in Paris, with temperatures lurking just above 50 degrees.