Novak Djokovic denies being the Roland Garros favourite as he heaped praise on Carlos Alcaraz ahead of the tournament.
After winning only five matches on clay this season, Novak Djokovic is the third seed in Paris after being overtaken by Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev who claimed the title in Madrid and Rome.
Despite this Djokovic may be perceived to be the favourite to claim his 23rd Grand Slam title in Paris as he is the most experiences amongst the favourites.
However speaking ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year Djokovic dismissed being the favourite and claimed that title goes to Alcaraz, “Well, it’s no secret that one of the main reasons I play today and compete in professional tennis is to try to break more records and make more history in tennis. That’s extremely motivating and inspiring for me,” Djokovic started his monologue by explaining.
“But as I said, at the same time, you know, things are different than they were 10 years ago in terms of how my body is maybe responding to the schedule. You know, I’m playing season after season. So early in the year I was saying that I put emphasis and priority on the Grand Slams, so I’m feeling good at the moment.
“I don’t have any physical issues that worry me. So that’s most important for me. You know, I want to feel good coming into a Grand Slam. So part of me is, of course, you know, confident and always aspires to win Grand Slams and biggest titles in this sport, but I also have to be humble about the fact that things are a bit different, you know, with the way I’m feeling on the court month after month, you know. The beating is harder than it was before, physically.
“Yeah, you have big names, of course, like Alcaraz, he’s No. 1 in the world, and probably the biggest favorite in the tournament. You know, Tsitsipas and Medvedev, they have started playing great on clay. And Rune, Ruud, Zverev, knows how to play big events, can always do damage against anybody.
“So I think the tournament is quite open, to be honest. Maybe a few guys that are at the top of the favorites list, but anyone can take it. I’m hoping it can be me.”
It’s clear that Djokovic isn’t the most prepared he’s been for a Grand Slam but to hear that the Serb’s injury is getting better is good news for the tournament as Djokovic bids for more history in Paris.
When talking about Alcaraz, Djokovic expanded on what makes him the favourite at Roland Garros, “Because he’s No. 1 in the world, and he’s a player that won big titles on clay this season. So right now, you know, he is the biggest favorite regardless of the fact that he has, you know, 1 Grand
Slam and I have 22,” Djokovic emphatically said.
“I mean, still, we look at the last few months and the kind of shape and the form that he’s having and that I’m having, I think he’s a slightly bigger favourite.
“But then again, as I said, Grand Slams are a different tournament, a different sport in a way, because you’re, you know, playing best-of-five, you are playing in the most important tournaments in the world, and the experience is on my side, but how much will that play a role in eventual head-to-head if I get to play him or not, we’ll get to see.
“But in terms of looking at it from the perspective of the game itself and the form, I think he’s the No. 1 favourite now.”
It’s clear that Djokovic rates the Spaniard highly as Alcaraz bids to improve on his quarter-final performance from last year.
Finally Djokovic spoke about one player that would have been the favourite here had he been playing.
Of course that player is the defending champion and long-time rival of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal.
Speaking about Nadal’s absence Djokovic admitted he won’t miss Nadal being in the draw and said that Nadal’s press conference in Mallorca made him ponder about his own career, “Well, honestly, I don’t miss him being in the draw, you know,” Djokovic jokingly said.
“You know, I don’t like seeing him in the draw of Roland Garros, to be honest, you know. I have had not so much success against him in our records head-to-head in Roland Garros.
“I have managed to beat him twice, but, you know, I had to leave my heart and my guts out on the court to achieve that. So I know how hard it is to play him anywhere, really, around the world, but especially here.
“But, you know, of course as a tennis fan and someone that is also part of the tennis ecosystem, you always want to win, to see the best tennis players in the world, the most famous tennis players in the world playing.
“So he’s definitely one of the guys that not only has made a history in terms of his records in this tournament overall, but just he won the hearts of many tennis fans around the world, and deservedly so, with his charisma and character and everything that he left in his legacy.
“He’s really exemplary player for that. So for sure he will be missed this season, and hopefully can come back. I think he said somewhere around end of the season, last few months of the season, and then he said that next
year will be his last.
“So, you know, that news came in a way as a shock to everybody, you know. People were asking me how I felt when he said that, you know, and I have to say that, you know, I was saying that always that he’s my biggest rival.
“When he announced that he’s going to have his last season of career, you know, I felt part of me is leaving with him too, if you know what I mean. Yeah, it made me wonder, you know, it made me think about my career and how long I’m going to play.
“So far I’m not going to make any announcement today, but just reflecting on it, you know, I felt also a little bit emotional about what he was saying.”
Before retirement, Djokovic will feel he has a few more Grand Slam runs in him and he will hope Paris is the start of that where the Serb will face Aleksandar Kovacevic.
