After beating Jaume Munar in round two of the French Open, Novak Djokovic opens up about his recent troubles. (2:26)
PARIS -- Novak Djokovic might not be the No. 1 player in the world anymore, but you can make the argument he tops the field in the interview room.
He's articulate, thoughtful, insightful and self-reflective. A reporter's dream.
On Wednesday, Djokovic took care of Jaume Munar 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the French Open.
While the match itself was a little meh, his presser afterward was enlightening. Here are a few highlights:
So Serena, she's cool, right?
"I love Serena. I mean, you know, all the superlatives and beautiful words that you can think of, you know, she deserves it. Especially now, I mean, after she gave birth to Olympia. And after all she has achieved in sport to see her back and putting hours on the court and work and again and again, it's impressive. It's inspiring. It really is. I do have a really nice relationship with her, and we -- there is actually, I don't know if you know, but there is one day difference between my daughter and her daughter. Yeah. So we have texted a lot in the process. So she was very nice to share a lot of things that she was going through with me and my wife, and I really appreciated that. I felt really close to her. All I can say is I love her, and I wish her all the best."
Spoken with Andy Murray lately?
Very few players on tour spend more time answering questions to the degree that Novak Djokovic does. AP Photo/Christophe Ena
"We spoke recently because we are part of the player council, so we had a meeting and he was on the conference call. We got to have a FaceTime, as well. Yeah, he was very committed for four hours. I mean, obviously, he's got two children now, and life at home for sure for him is different and I can understand him. And I can only imagine how difficult it is for him, as well, to deal with the circumstances of injury."
Ever think that troublesome elbow is going to flare up?
"I have no fear of that. I'm comfortable."
Is change tough?
"I don't worry. I follow my heart and my gut, and I believe that decisions that I make in life are the right ones, even though they don't seem the right ones maybe to some people. But to me, they are the right ones at the time. At that moment, I feel certain emotion towards something and, of course, I'm trying to be rational and responsible and think about it. It's a natural process of every human being in our planet."
Why can't you just get back to the No. 1 player you were for so long?
"Well, I have to embrace this kind of situation in life where it's different. You know, I'm not -- and I don't want to be the same person and player that I was two, three, four years ago. It's just different. I have a different life. I mean, I'm a father of two children, and it's a lot of different things that I prioritize in life. It's not only about tennis, which has been the case before. So you have to adjust to it, embrace it, and try to find best possible solutions to balance everything and thrive in every aspect of your life.
Back to Serena, is it more difficult to be a tennis-playing mom than dad?
"Yeah. Yes."
OK, so the last question did not deserve more than a two-word answer. Hello! But as you can see, Djokovic has a lot to say about a lot.
As an aside, it's these types or interviews that make us thank our lucky stars the Grand Slams provide a transcription service.
Yes he is, but barely.
Alexander Zverev looks like he was in loads of trouble Wednesday. The No. 2 seed got smoked in the first set by Dusan Lajovic and was down in the second as well.
But Zverev pulled away down the stretch, winning 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Zverev, 21, said he didn't put too much thought into mounting a comeback. He just played his game, and it started clicking in the final two sets.
So now he can just go back his hotel and ...
"I play a lot of PlayStation, to be honest," Zverev said afterward. "I play with Marcelo Melo, and he can't beat me. That makes me very happy. That's my evening routines."
But compared to the marathon match between No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov and American Jared Donaldson, Zverev basically went on a picnic under the Eiffel Tower.
Dimitrov needed 4 hours, 19 minutes, the second-longest match of the tournament so far before prevailing 10-8 in the fifth.
Nice effort, Grigor. Now go kiss both of your knees!
How significant was this? First, it puts Dimitrov in the third round of the French Open, but perhaps more importantly, he snapped an 0-7 drought in matches that have gone at least 3½ hours.
We're starting to get to the point in the draw in which competitive matches will be on tap every day. Here's a doozy: With their latest wins, Madison Keys and Indian Wells champ Naomi Osaka will square off in the third round.
Did we mention this one should be a doozy?
Madison Keys needed just over an hour to get through her opening round at the French Open. Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Finally, what would this French Open be with out some Serena catsuit rhetoric. After Caroline Wozniacki's 51-minute domination Wednesday, she was asked for her thoughts.
"I think it's really cool," Wozniacki said. "I think it's definitely different, and we always know that Serena sometimes brings out something different. She had the jean skirt at one point and the high boots and everything. I think it's cool. For me personally, I think it would be a little hot. I'd probably choose a short version of it. But, you know, I think if anyone can pull it off, it's her."