Novak Djokovic believes he is heading in the right direction ahead of his title defence at the French Open which will begin later this month.
The world No.1 says he now feels ‘physically one hundred percent’ after recently being affected by illness. Djokovic has endured a rollercoaster start to the year after being forced to miss the Australian Open and two Masters 1000 events in America due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19. On the clay he has endured mixed results with a first round loss in Monte Carlo before going on to win his 86th title in his native Belgrade. Last week at the Madrid Open Djokovic reached the semi-finals before losing to teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in a gripping encounter.
Reflecting on his Madrid clash with Alcaraz, Djokovic says there was a silver lining to his loss. The two took part in one of the longest matches to ever take place in the Spanish capital with the youngster prevailing 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5).
“I think it’s closer to the desired level every week,” Djokovic replied when asked about the current level of his game by reporters in Rome on Monday. “(In) Madrid, even though I lost in the semifinals, I still think I played really good tennis. Felt physically hundred percent, even after an almost three-and-a-half-hour battle against Alcaraz. I recovered well the next day, was ready to go.’
“That’s a positive and encouraging factor prior to Rome and also, of course, the big goal which is Paris. I think I’m in the right direction.”
Djokovic is seeking to win his 21st major title at Roland Garros which would once again put him level with Rafael Nadal for the most won by a male player. Last season he won three out of the four Grand Slams with the only exception being the US Open where he finished runner-up to Daniil Medvedev.
“I know I can always play better, and I know that I’m very self-critical on the court. At the same time, realistically looking, I think the tennis, quality of tennis, level of tennis, is really high now.” He continued.
“Hopefully I can maintain that level throughout this week (in Rome) and build, go deep in this tournament hopefully – that’s the goal – and come to Paris well-prepared.”
Nadal is poised to be one of Djokovic’s biggest threats at the French Open given his dominance in recent years. The Spaniard has won the title a record 13 times. However, he is still on the comeback from a rib injury with this week’s Italian Masters being only his second clay court event of the year.
Eyes will also be on 19-year-old Alcaraz who has become a revelation on the Tour since the Australian Open. He is the first player to win four ATP titles this year and currently boasts a win-loss of 28-3.
“Everything about his game is really impressive. He’s a really complete player, can play equally well offensively and defensively. He’s the talk of the sport,” Djokovic said of the world No.6.
“Roland Garros, he’s definitely one of the main favourites, no doubt, even though he has never reached the second week of a Grand Slam. With everything recently that he has achieved, he deserves to be one of the favourites.”
Djokovic will start his Rome campaign on Tuesday against Aslan Karatsev. He is currently tied with the Russian in their head-to-head at 1-1.
