The French Open draw is out and while for some there will be sighs of relief, for others, Novak Djokovic in particular, there will be groans of frustration. Djokovic will be attempting to win the one Slam missing from his resume in his quest to become the eighth player to achieve the career slam, and if he achieves that rare feat, it will all be down to hard work and nothing to do with luck of the draw.
In the first round, at least, when he faces Joao Sousa, Djokovic will have some time to get used to taking to the Roland Garros courts as the man many are saying is the unofficial title favorite . The 42nd ranked Portuguese player has won only three clay court matches all season and the last time he and Djokovic met in a slam, at last year’s US Open, Djokovic lost only four games so he should not be too much of a handful.
Chardy could be next up, if the Frenchman gets past Gimeno-Traver. Chardy is the man who beat Federer at the Italian Open, saving match point with a passing shot that will be played on highlights reels for years to come. If Djokovic is not at his best, Chardy, who beat Del Potro in five at the 2013 Australian Open, will have not only his fine game on his side, but, just as dangerously, if not more so, the vociferous support of the notorious French crowd. That is the kind of support that could turn a 0-8 head to head deficit such as what Chardy has to Djokovic into 1-8.
Cilic is Djokovic’s seeded opponent for the last 32. In Miami, Cilic stormed through the first set 6-1 against the Serb before Djokovic came back. Cilic has a history of striking hot then turning cold and no one knows better than Djokovic how to weather the storms and turn defeat into victory. Luckily for Djokivic the first week of Roland Garros is predicted to be a wet one, conditions which will favor him over his big serving, big hitting potential opponent.
Tsonga awaits in the last sixteen. It was Tsonga who held two match points against Djokivic in 2012 when Djokovic was bidding to become the first man to hold all four slams at one since Laver. Tsonga is experiencing something of a slump since being injured last year but the French has been the site of some of his finest moments, notably his straight set thumping of Federer in the quarters last year, and if anywhere is going to kick-start a Tsonga revival, it will be the fourth round of Roland Garros on the Phillipe Chatrier stadium.
If Djokovic survives Tsonga, Raonic is seeded 8th and scheduled to meet him in the last eight. Raonic was within a tiebreaker of knocking Djokovic out of the Italian Open semis last week. And if Raonic is not there to threaten Djokovic, it could be the in-form Kei Nishikori. It was Nishikori who defeated Djokovic in his 2011 stellar year and who a few weeks ago had the better of Nadal in the Madrid final before injury struck. Another possibility for the quarters would be Alexandr Dolgopolov who had a hot streak in the recent North American spring swing and who took a set of Djokovic in their 2012 Monte Carlo encounter.
In the semis, Roger Federer is seeded to try to repeat his feat of knocking a hot Djokovic out of the French Open in 2011. Just as back then, both men are having great seasons. Djokivic is coming off the back of his recent defeat of Nadal in the Italian Open final, Federer is coming off the pride of becoming a father again and climbing up from eight to four in the ATP rankings.
If Djokovic can handle Federer, then Nadal would most likely be there in the final. Djokovic has beaten Nadal the last four times they met, all in big finals, and no one has a better chance of grabbing the French Open crown from the eight time champ than the Serb. But best of three finals in Masters events are a different ball game to best of five at Roland Garros where Nadal has lost only once in his career.
And Djokivic has had his chances against Nadal at the French before. In 2012, he tore through the third set of their final encounter in damp, heavy conditions before the match was suspended for rain. But the next day, when play resumed, Djokivic’s intensity was significantly hampered and he double-faulted match point down.
Last season, Djokovic led Nadal by a break in the fifth in their semi-final before a missed overhead, a foul at the net and an ever-tenacious Nadal saw his chances slip from his hand.
But this season, Djokivic says he is more relaxed than in previous years. And the wrist injury that put him out of Madrid might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Djokiovic has only played 9 matches on clay this season, and 5 of them were on his run to the Italian Open final. A combination of being relatively rested and also confident-and after all what more confidence do you need than taking apart Nadal in Rome?-might see Djokovic survive the tough draw he has been dealt and finally join the likes of Nadal, Federer, Laver and Agassi as holders of the career slam.
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