Novak Djokovic was pushed to his limit in a physically punishing French Open encounter by Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday and the 36-year-old twice champion said he had accepted the fact that his body behaved differently now.
The Serbian, who is seeking a men's record 23rd Grand Slam title to overtake the injured Rafa Nadal, spent more than three hours on court - much of it battling away in two exhausting opening sets - before prevailing 7-6 7-6 6-2.
"We don't have much time to start to name the many injuries I have, and the list is quite long," Djokovic told reporters. "I don't want to sit here and talk about these things that are not preventing me from playing. I still kept on playing." "These are the circumstances that you, as a professional athlete, have to deal with. Accept it. Sometimes you need help from the physio during the match. Sometimes you need pills," Djokovic said.
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