French Open: Boris Becker admits he was ‘a bit worried’ about ‘friend’ Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic has allayed fears over match sharpness at this year’s French Open with Boris Becker saying the tennis great has proven that he still “do it all at Grand Slams”.
The 24-time major winner played only one tournament on clay in the build-up to Roland Garros and that was at the Italian Open where he failed to win a match as he lost his opener against Dino Prizmic.
In fact, Djokovic had played only four matches since losing the Australian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz as his only other tournament was the Indian Wells Open at the beginning of March when he lost in the round of 16.
The third seed was tested by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round as he lost his opening set before winning in four and Valentin Royer also put up a good fight as he again required four sets to book his place in the third round.
Former world No 1 Becker admits he had doubts about “my friend” ahead of the second major of the year, but Djokovic’s 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3 win in three hours and 44-minutes shows that he still has “it”.
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“Before the tournament, I was already a bit worried about my friend and whether he could maintain his form at all,” Becker told TNT Sports.
“He had barely played any tournaments, barely any matches. Throughout the clay-court season, he only played one match – and even lost that in the first round in Rome. The last tournament where he looked really good was Indian Wells in March.
“But if there’s one player who can do it at Grand Slams, it’s always Djokovic. His opponent, Royer, also played very well. They were out there for three-and-a-half hours in the heat. All the questions I had beforehand, he answered today.”
Djokovic faces rising star Joao Fonseca for a place in the round of 16 and despite the energy-sapping conditions in Paris, the Serbian will head into the match as favourite as he continues his hunt for a record-extending 25th major title.
And should that trophy elude him in Paris, then there is always Wimbledon.
“The reason he’s still playing tennis is the Grand Slams, the best-of-five matches,” Becker explained. “Even if you think you have a chance, you still have to go out there and play them.
“Of course, he has a better chance on grass than on clay, but every extra match he plays at Roland Garros is an advantage for him heading into Wimbledon.”
*Boris Becker will feature as part of TNT Sports’ Roland-Garros coverage*
*Every match of Roland-Garros is live across TNT Sports and HBO Max*.
