Novak Djokovic believes he can win Roland Garros after reaching the third round.
The Serb has had a very poor start to the season by his own standards as he has yet to reach a final this season.
However two good wins puts Djokovic in a good position as he can gradually build confidence and momentum with best of five sets being a more favourable format for the world number one.
Now Djokovic gets set for what he hopes will be a successful title defence with Lorenzo Musetti awaiting in the third round.
Speaking after his win over Roberto Carballes Baena, Djokovic maintained the belief he can win the title but admits expectations are low this year in comparison with previous years, “Well, there is always that kind of conviction and belief inside of me I can win a slam. That’s the reason why I’m still competing at this level. That’s why I’m here,” Djokovic told reporters.
“At this age I wouldn’t really be competing at the slams and continuing to play professional tennis if I didn’t believe that I possess quality to go all the way to the title match. So, you know, I still of course sense that I have the game and I have the goods to go far. But as I said in the press conference prior to the start of the tournament, I don’t want to get too much ahead of the present day, because I haven’t had really a great form as a lead-up to Roland Garros.
“So I have to keep my expectations a bit lower. Of course, hopes and beliefs and convictions are always there, always high, and I always aim for the highest star, so to say. But I’m being very conscious of the present moment and what needs to be done on a daily basis to build my form as the tournament progresses hopefully and then peak at the right time when it matters the most.”
Djokovic has had so much experience at this stage of the tournament that he knows how to overcome bad form and lack of confidence in order to win the world’s biggest tournaments.
However as the year’s go on Djokovic has admitted motivation is hard to find as he tries to continue to fend off pressure from the next generation of players, “Well, I’ve said it recently that I did struggle with motivation on a constant basis, so to say, to always have that motivation I’ve had for more than 20-whatever years of professional tennis. I knew the moment is going to arrive sooner or later where I’m just going to, you know, have off weeks, so to say, where I’m struggling to push myself or, yeah, deliver what needs to be delivered on the court,” Djokovic explained.
“But, you know, in terms of my commitment to the practice weeks and practice sessions, that hasn’t gone down, to be honest. I really, you know, whatever my team and I agree on and whatever they want me to do, I do it. I show up every day on practice courts and gym and whatever I need to do fitness-wise, mental preparation, whatever it takes. But it’s true that, you know, with my mind I’m focused pretty much solely on Grand Slams and Olympics this year, and playing for my country, really. That’s something that really drives me the most, so to say, today.
“The other tournaments, of course, it’s not maybe sounding right, but these are huge tournaments, very important tournaments, tournaments that are part of the ATP Tour that I was part of and still am part of, of course, so many years, and have been integral part of my career and my success. But yeah, it is becoming a little bit more challenging for me to push myself every single tournament to be really at the top.”
Normally at this stage of the tournament Djokovic would be set to face Rafael Nadal in the latter stages as they’ve had some epic matches in the past.
Reflecting on his rivalry with Nadal, Djokovic was asked what Nadal’s peak was and gave the following answer, “Well, I have played him so many times that I think he peaked more than few times against me in Roland Garros particularly. You know, I have played him here from first time I think it was back in 2006 or ’07 and then the last time we played in — what was it? — 2022. Yeah, I have experienced firsthand, so to say, from the court his evolution as a player,” Djokovic stated.
“I actually think that he has improved his backhand as he was getting older. He was probably conscious of, you know, physical struggles that he had, and he had to be more aggressive on the court. So he was, you know, still topspinning the forehand better than anybody has ever done it, and he still kept that incredible defense and offense in the forehand, but I think with backhand he was just able to handle the high balls to his backhand better than he was maybe at the beginning of our encounters. He was probably moving better and had better physical condition in the first ten years of his career here in Roland Garros, but then after that he had to adjust. I think he did very well with the backhand particularly.
“I found his backhand very, very, very consistent and really a big weapon. The kind of pattern against Rafa was kind of always trying to find that backhand, get him out of the court and open up the forehand. But, you know, then he improved so much on that backhand and court positioning that it became, you know, impossible to find kind of a weak spot from the baseline, you know, to hurt him. So we had some really amazing encounters over the years, but since we are here in Roland Garros on clay, a couple of matches that really stand out that we played here against each other were that five-setter that he won. I think it was 9-7 in the fifth semifinals in 2012 or ’13.
“Then, you know, he didn’t play his best but I played probably the best match I ever played against him on clay here when I won against him in quarters the year I lost in the finals, 2015. And then the last couple of matches here, really. The one when I won 2021, we played again, a very long semifinals, deep in the night. Same thing the year after when he won, he beat me in quarters, also night session, 7-6 in the fourth. Yeah, I mean, I’ve said it many times.
“He has been the greatest rival that I ever had. Matches against him on clay have frustrated me so much in my career (smiling), but they also made me a better player, made me understand what it takes, you know, really, to try to surpass him, try to win at least once or twice on Roland Garros. I said it on the court the other day. It’s the highest mountain to climb, really, always for me to win Roland Garros, particularly because of Nadal, because I always have to win against him in order to get to the title. So, yeah, we had some really fantastic matches here.”
Nadal leads the head-to-head with Djokovic 8-2 although the Serb is winning the overall head-to-head 30-29.