Novak Djokovic Rates His Chances Of Winning French Open Following Loss To Nadal - UBITENNIS

Novak Djokovic Rates His Chances Of Winning French Open Following Loss To Nadal

The world no.1 believes it is possible that he can 'go all the way' at Roland Garros.

By Adam Addicott
4 Min Read

Novak Djokovic believes he is heading in the right direction going into the French Open as he bids to win the Grand Slam for a second time.

The 18-time major champion says he has gained confidence from his run at the Italian Masters where he was denied the title by Rafael Nadal who prevailed in three sets at the Foro Italico. Prior to the final, the Serbian scored wins over world No.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, as well as Lorenzo Sonego in the semi-finals. The run is his best result so far on the clay this season after losing in the third round in Monte Carlo and semi-finals in his native Belgrade.

“I’m disappointed not to win it, but at the same time I’m very pleased with the level of tennis that I managed to find in the later stages of this tournament,” Djokovic said following his loss to Nadal.

Despite being the top ranked player on the ATP Tour, Djokovic faces a stern challenge in Roland Garros where he will be bidding to end Nadal’s dominance. The Spaniard has already won the tournament a record 13 times and has only ever been beaten twice. Although Djokovic is one of the players who have beaten him and won the title himself back in 2016.

“Going into Paris brings me a good sensation,” he said. “I actually now started to feel like I actually want to feel on clay. I think if I manage to play the way I played last night and today, I think I have a good chance to go all the way in Paris.”

Unlike previous years, the 34-year-old has taken the unusual step of deciding to play a tournament the week before a Grand Slam. He will headline the second Belgrade Open which is an ATP 250 event. Djokovic’s hope is that the match play will help him reach his peak in time for Paris.

Faced with the prospect of potentially playing three weeks in a row on the clay, he will take some time off before returning to training in a couple days. There will also be little time to rest after the French Open with Wimbledon taking place two weeks later.

“This coming week I’m going to rest as much as I can because I had enough time with the racquet on the court,” Djokovic outlined.
“I’m just going to rejuvenate, regroup, and then start training again some days before the start of the Belgrade Open.’
“I have to obviously keep the momentum going I feel with the quality of tennis. Do more training and a few more matches. I think I’m on the right way.’
“The last couple days really gave me a confidence boost for the clay. I found the game. So now I just have to maintain that level and peak in Paris.”

Djokovic’s win-loss record for the season currently stands at 17-3.

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