Novak Djokovic ‘as ready as he can be’ for French Open

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic stated on Monday that he wants to be “as ready as I can be” for the French Open as he prepares for only his third tournament of the season in Belgrade this week

In January, the world number one was deported from Australia due to his Covid vaccination status, and he also missed Indian Wells and the Miami Open in the United States.

In Djokovic’s absence, Rafael Nadal won a record 21st Grand Slam singles championship in Melbourne, breaking a tie with Roger Federer and Djokovic.

At the French Open, which begins on May 22, Djokovic will be hoping to match his great rival’s score.

“Roland Garros is the quintessential clay-court tournament and I’m partly already there in my thoughts, in terms of preparation and everything I’m doing at the moment to get there as ready as I can be,” Djokovic told reporters in Belgrade.

The 34-year-old also said he was planning to play in the Madrid Masters and the Italian Open ahead of Roland Garros.

“My current plans include Madrid and Rome,” he added.

“It depends, really, on my result here and the shape I’m in. We’ll decide then.”

After a quarter-final exit in Dubai in February, Djokovic lost in his first match of the Monte Carlo Masters last week to eventual runner-up Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

“I was not fully ready for the tournament in Monte Carlo and I knew that before the tournament started,” he said.

“However, I need match practice and this is the surface (clay) that requires a lot of time spent on the court during training sessions, and even more during matches.

“I hope to play more matches in Belgrade than in Monte Carlo.”

Last season, Djokovic won an ATP event in Belgrade a week before the start of the French Open, which he won for the second time despite trailing Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final by two sets.

“I had never before played a tournament in the week ahead of Roland Garros but last year I decided to do just that.

“Because it was Belgrade and I needed the feeling that the audience is the wind beneath my wings. It came true, I won the tournament, and it turned out I made a good decision ahead of the French Open.”

When Djokovic joins the event in the second round, he will play either Laslo Djere or Hamad Medjedovic, a compatriot.

In the quarterfinals, he might meet Dominic Thiem, the former US Open champion and two-time French Open finalist, who is playing his first ATP event since last June due to a series of injury setbacks.