BELGRADE – Novak Djokovic said that he is aiming to be “as ready as I can be” for the French Open as he prepares for just his third tournament of the season in Belgrade.
Djokovic will be hoping to match his great rival’s tally at the French Open, which begins on May 22.
The world number one was deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open in January over his Covid vaccination status, before also missing Indian Wells and the Miami Open in the United States.
In the Serbian star’s absence, Rafael Nadal won a record 21st Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne, moving out of a tie with Djokovic and Roger Federer.
“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 according to AFP.
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.”
Djokovic lost in his opening match of the Monte Carlo Masters last week to eventual runner-up Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, after a quarter-final exit in Dubai in February.
“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.”
Djokovic won an ATP event in the Serbian capital last season, the week before the start of the French Open, which he won for the second time despite trailing Stefanos Tsitsipas by two sets in the final.
“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.”
Top seed Djokovic will face a compatriot when he enters the tournament in the second round – either Laslo Djere or Hamad Medjedovic.
Djokovic will compete in Belgrade for the sixth time in his ATP Tour career next week at the Serbia Open. In the tournament’s second year in Belgrade following a move from Budapest, the World No. 1 seeks a fourth tour-level title in his native city.
He will face a fellow Serbian in his opening match – possibly Laslo Djere – and could face in-form countryman Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round. Djokovic defeated seventh seed Kecmanovic in the 2021 Belgrade quarter-finals before falling to Aslan Karatsev in three sets.
Dominic Thiem will hope to prevent that rematch as he gets set for his first ATP Tour action since he injured his right wrist last June.
The 28-year-old Austrian opens against John Millman, and could face Kecmanovic or Richard Gasquet in the second round before a potential showdown with Djokovic.
Third seed Karen Khachanov and Serbian eighth seed Filip Krajinovic round out the seeded men in the top half.
Andrey Rublev and Karatsev lead the draw’s bottom half, where fifth seed Cristian Garin and star Holger Rune will square off in one of the matchups of the first round. Garin and Rune are in second seed Rublev’s quarter.
Sixth seed Fabio Fognini will begin with an all-Italian contest against Marco Cecchinato, and could face Karatsev in the third round.
The 28-player ATP 250 event will be held from 18-24 April at the Novak Tennis Center, named for the World No. 1.