Novak Djokovic's 2023 clay-court season hasn't been that spectacular but he'll still start Roland Garros as an active champion of two Grand Slams.
Novak Djokovic hasn't played at his usual level so far this year which saw his ranking dip to number three. Alcaraz is now number one in the world with a proper showdown for the ranking likely to happen at this year's Roland Garros.
It's only a few days away and with Nadal withdrawing last week it looks to be an open draw. Some players are more favoured than others but it's very hard to predict how things will unfold. Djokovic's status is very interesting to some because he's the only legend that will be in Paris and Tim Henman spoke about his chances ahead of the event.
Djokovic’s standard is so high and we expect him to play brilliantly every day, but it’s not that easy. His career at this stage is about the majors, but he has been building up his timing and resilience for the Grand Slams. I’m sure, come the start, he will be one of the favourites. I would put Alcaraz fractionally ahead of Djokovic because he has played more tennis and had some good results on clay.
Henman is not the only one who thinks Djokovic is one of the major favourites despite the struggles. Holger Rune, who defeated Djokovic in Rome recently, sees Novak as the number-one favourite for the event due to his experience.
Experience is something very crucial, especially in a longer format. There have been too many matches that Djokovic or even other legendary players like Federer and Nadal won despite not playing their best tennis on that day. As Henman points out, it's all about the majors for Djokovic now.
Djokovic’s career is now just about the majors and he is building his fitness and level of play. The level of these two is just a little bit higher. You can never write off Novak Djokovic with all his experience at Grand Slam events, and of winning so many finals. The way he moves and the way his mindset is with his pure power is just incredible.
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