Novak Djokovic will be heading to the 2023 Roland Garros as one of the favourites but his recent form may suggest otherwise.
It's been a challenging clay-court season for the experienced Serb in 2023. Ahead of the Roland Garros, it's his first season since 2018 without clay-court title, despite starting the season with 15-1 record on the hard courts.
It all started with a loss in Monte Carlo for Djokovic, who then moved to his home event in Banja Luka. However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion wasn't happy about the conditions there, which resulted in an early exit against compatriot Dusan Lajovic.
He then took some time away from the courts, as an injury forced him out of the 2023 Madrid Open. However, Djokovic returned to action at the 2023 Italian Open and in the first three matches, everything was going well for him.
Although he struggled with some kind of injury that he didn't want to talk about, Djokovic won all three matches quite comfortably, before taking on Danish prodigy Holger Rune who stopped his journey in Rome.
After his exit from the tournament, Djokovic was asked if he was still confident ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season, which he managed to win twice in his career. The Serb provided a very short answer, but one that said 1000 words.
"Yes (smiling)."
The Serb was then further asked if his clay-court preparation was sufficient this year to show his best tennis in Paris. Djokovic played only eight matches, losing three and unless he wins the Roland Garros, he will have the least wins on the red dirt since 2005.
"Nothing. I mean, just training and getting ready for the most important tournament of the clay season for me. I know I can always play better. Definitely I am looking forward to working on various aspects of my game, of my body, hopefully getting myself in 100% shape. That's the goal. I always like my chances in Grand Slams against anybody on any surface, best-of-five. Let's see how it goes."
Djokovic's biggest rival, Rafael Nadal, has been struggling with injuries and there's quite a big chance that he will miss the tournament that he won 14 times in his career. Asked about whether the draw will be now more open than ever before, the Serb said:
"It depends if Nadal plays or not (smiling). But next to him of course Alcaraz, Rune, these guys are right there in the contention, some of the biggest favorites to win the title."
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