"I am not a robot, I have got feelings" - Novak Djokovic on his battle cries during RG quarterfinal

Novak Djokovic brings an incredible level of passion, discipline and commitment to the court every time he steps on it, but sometimes even he finds it tough to get through pressure points or situations. In these moments, the Serb often resorts to yelling or hitting himself with his racquet to give himself the necessary boost.

That was evident on Wednesday too, when Novak Djokovic was playing against Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals of the ongoing French Open. Down by a set and plagued by injury issues, Djokovic was visibly flustered by the enormity of the task before him. But he let out a series of roaring battle cries to give his morale a boost, and eventually managed to stage a comeback.

After the match the World No. 1 spoke about his mental state during such tough matches, and how getting fired up is just one of the ways he tries to navigate on-court challenges.

It is not a golden rule that outbursts always work in my favor: Novak Djokovic

One of the reporters during Novak Djokovic's press conference asked him why he didn't start yelling sooner if he knew it would produce immediate results. Djokovic started his reply by saying he wasn’t a ‘robot’ - a term that many have used to describe him because of his machine-like consistency.

Djokovic on “tornado of emotions” he goes through on court. To stay calm or to shout and let it all out, not always a choice. Interesting answer here 👇🏻 #RG20 pic.twitter.com/Fm6u9GSlji

— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) October 8, 2020

The Serb went on to elaborate that like everyone else he too was susceptible to a ‘tornado of emotions’. For him, these emotions often helped him release the tension built up, which in turn helped him get going.

“I understand what you are trying to say, but I am not a robot,” Djokovic said. “I have got feelings, just like everyone, and on the court I experience a tornado of emotions - sometimes I need to be focused only on myself, to block every else out, other times I feel I need to release all of it in order to get myself going.”

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic then went on to recount how these outbursts have impacted his game in the past. According to the Serb, there have been instances where getting agitated has helped him, but there have also been matches he has lost because of getting too worked up.

Djokovic feels it is not a ‘golden rule’ that his outbursts always favor him. But he did admit that against Pablo Carreno Busta, his yelling helped significantly.

“It had happened in the past that I am able to turn things around when I am completely calm, and I have lost some big matches because of those emotional outbursts,” Djokovic added. “So it is not a golden rule that those outbursts always work in my favor. But I see where you are coming from - today me shouting came in the right moment.”

Novak Djokovic will now face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of the 2020 French Open on Friday. Should he win that, he will find himself in his 5th final at Roland Garros - where he will be up against either Rafael Nadal or Diego Schwartzman.