Galan readies for mammoth task against Djokovic

 - Chris Oddo

Colombian lucky loser gets his chance to shine in Paris against the Serbian top seed

Daniel Elahi Galan, Roland Garros 2020, qualifying© Cédric Lecocq/FFT

Ready or not, here it comes - a shot at the big time. 

After two victories on the red clay in Paris, 24-year-old Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan will move on to the unenviable task of having to face the seemingly invincible game - and aura - of world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the third round at Roland-Garros. 

Galan, the highest-ranked men’s singles player from his country, at 153, may not be confident about his chances, but he’s relishing the opportunity to finally do more than walk past the legendary Serb in the locker room, or see him on TV.

Have to start somewhere, right? 

"He's always on TV, always on the centre court, always in the finals, so obviously we watch him a lot,” Galan said on Thursday, after he had waltzed past American Tennys Sandgren, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. 

“I'm just looking forward to playing him, and to play on the centre court probably,” Galan said. “I have never practiced with him, just sometimes you see him in the locker room and that's it."  

Galan, who is bidding to become just the second man from Colombia to reach the fourth round at Roland-Garros, has never even practiced with a top-10 player; instead he'll go the trial-by-fire route when he meets the 17-time Grand Slam champion on Saturday in Paris. 

The 24-year-old lucky loser was beaten in the last round of qualifying by Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland, 7-5, 6-1, but thanks to a number of withdrawals he took his place in the main draw and overcame Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in five sets for his first win at a Grand Slam in round one.

Galan, lean and wiry at 1.91m and 72kg, has been a qualifying regular at the Grand Slams since 2018, but he did not crack the main draw at Slam level until January.

The Bucaramanga, Colombia native failed to qualify at seven consecutive majors, falling in the last round three times before finally breaking through at this year’s Australian Open. There, he took his place in the main draw and lost to world No.208 Alejandro Tabilo in five sets. 

Daniel Elahi Galan, Roland Garros 2020, second round© Clément Mahoudeau/FFT

The narrow loss was deflating but it was also a sign to Galan that his improvement on hard courts might be able to help him further unlock his game on clay, which is his favourite surface. 

Galan says he sensed an uptick in his game at the end of last season, and in the beginning of 2020 he made more strides by reaching the final of the Newport Beach Challenger on hard courts.

"At the end of the year I started playing better and with more confidence in myself, and at the beginning of the year I was with confidence, but I needed the results,” says Galan. “I had a couple of good tournaments and I was feeling much better and it was even better that I was winning on hard courts.” 

Galan, who joins the top-seeded doubles duo of Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal as one of three Colombian men still alive in Paris, cites his match with Belgium’s David Goffin at Davis Cup last year as another critical driver of his evolution . 

It helped him realise that those talented players he was observing on TV were only human, just like him. 

Daniel Elahi Galan, Roland Garros 2020, second round© Clément Mahoudeau/FFT

"To be honest when I played Goffin in Davis Cup at the end of last year and he was like the toughest guy I have ever played and I was really nervous because it was Goffin, a guy you see on TV all the time,” Galan explained. “I just went on the court and I was expecting him to play just unbelievable and maybe he would beat me so easy - but at the end of the day they are human. They also make mistakes and also they get mad. They are also trying the best that they can and that's it.” 

Galan may eventually find that Djokovic is far more menacing on the court than he is in the locker room, but if he succeeds in taking his relaxed demeanor onto the court, it could help him stay competitive with the world No.1. He’s earned his opportunity, and now he wants to experience it on his terms. 

“I think I just have to focus on my game and that's it,” he said. “I know I play Djokovic, but it's like in all matches, any player you play, you have to do your game, just try to win and just give it all you have, that's it."