Patrick McEnroe has picked Novak Djokovic ahead of Rafael Nadal as his pre-Roland Garros favourite before the 2022 Grand Slam.
Many of the ATP's top players will be fit and ready to compete at the 2022 Roland Garros, and Djokovic is the pre-competition favorite as the top seed. However, the likes of 13-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal and 2021 US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will also be looking to go the distance in Paris.
Djokovic has led the ATP rankings throughout 2022 following a sensational 2021 campaign, where he won three Grand Slam titles and reached the US Open final.
Despite missing out on this year's Australian Open event due to COVID-19 vaccination disputes, Djokovic has retained his place at the top of the standings and won the Italian Open earlier this month.
Several pundits have, therefore, backed the Serbian to seal his 20th Grand Slam title at the 2022 Roland Garros. The latest pundit to go for Djokovic ahead of the other competitors is Patrick McEnore, who said that Nadal and Alcaraz will be contenders, but the Seribian might just have the edge this time around.
"Normally I would say Nadal is the favourite. Djokovic got him at the French last year, but I still think he (Nadal)’s the favourite, all things being equal."
"But, I think, I’m leaning towards Djokovic at the moment despite the fact that [Carlos] Alcaraz got him in Madrid. Altitude there, the ball jumping a little bit more, and Novak’s starting to find his range. Right now, I’m going Djokovic as the slight favourite."
Djokovic heads into this season's Roland Garros main draw as the reigning champion after lifting his second career title at the event in 2021. The 19-time Grand Slam champion overcame a spirited Stefanos Tsitsipas in a marathon five-set final last year.
Nadal lost to Djokovic in four sets in the semi-finals of last season's French Open. It was the first time since 2016 that the Spanish player failed to make the final at the Grand Slam, ending his run of four consecutive Roland Garros title wins between 2017 and 2020.
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