"He can do it but Nadal is the favourite" - Ivanisevic previews Djokovic's Roland Garros chances

Friday, 10 March 2023 at 11:10

Updated at Tuesday, 07 January 2025 at 18:56

byZachary Wimer

Novak Djokovic lost to Rafael Nadal last year at Roland Garros, but he defeated him the previous year, and Goran Ivanisevic thinks he can do it again.

Djokovic and Nadal have played against each other for three consecutive Roland Garros tournaments. In 2020, Nadal cruised past his opponent relatively easily.

One year later it was Djokovic who won after a superb performance. Last year, it was Nadal's turn to win, with the match being described as very 'odd' by Ivanisevic.

"To be honest, I still don’t know what happened there, I still find that match a bit odd. Novak just wasn’t mentally ready to fight Nadal, who was the better player and deserved to win."

- Ivanisevic on Djokovic's loss to Nadal last year in Paris

The focus this year is to win and luckily for Djokovic, the circumstances are very different than last year. He's got playing time under his belt, and he's fully healthy. According to Ivanisevic, Nadal is the favorite, but Djokovic can win.

"So this year, the most important thing is to stay healthy and to prepare really well physically. Of course, our main focus is Roland Garros, he needs to be ready to give it his all there. He can do it. Nadal is the favorite on clay as long as he can walk, but if Novak is mentally up for it, he can beat anyone."

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The former player-turned-coach also mentioned other players like Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who could challenge for the trophy in 2023.

"Carlos Alcaraz, first and foremost. (Alexander) Zverev played a terrific Roland-Garros last year until the injury. (Stefanos) Tsitsipas is there as well, a former finalist."

"There are a lot of guys hungry for success, who want it badly and believe that they can do it, only to the point where they see that they can’t (laughing). It’s going to be an interesting clay court season, but for us the most important thing is to peak in Paris."