Novak Djokovic crashes to another shock defeat as his French Open plans take a hit
Novak Djokovic’s alarming run of form continues, as he appeared to throw the towel in as he was beaten by world No 44 Tomas Machac at the Geneva Open.
After losing the first set, Djokovic appeared to be ready to take control of the match only to surrender the third set in a surprisingly limp fashion as he lost 6-4, 0-6, 6-1.
Such was the drop off in Djokovic’s form in the third set that it appeared the world No 1 was keen to get out of Geneva and head to Paris to prepare for the French Open rather than play a final in Geneva on Saturday.
Even if that is the case, it is hard to get used to seeing Djokovic playing like this as Machac joined Luca Nardi and Alejandro Tabilo on a growing list of names to inflict a shock defeat on the Serbian in 2024.
He will now head to Roland Garros with big question marks over his form after the experiment of playing in Geneva threw up as many questions as it answered.
Most tennis observers were stunned to see Djokovic request a wildcard into an ATP 250 tournament the week before a Grand Slam, but he may feel the matches he got under his belt in Switzerland were better preparation than practice sets in Paris.
His attitude in the final set could be evidence that he feels he had enough match practice in Geneva and his fans will certainly be hoping that was the case.
If what we saw in the final set against Machac is a reflection of Djokovic’s form, he will need to raise his game several levels to compete for the title in Paris, but former British No 1 Laura Robson is convinced the 24-time Grand Slam champion will come good when it matters most
“It’s so unusual for him not to be in peak form leading up to a Slam, but then there are other times when it’s happened and he has been totally fine by the time he gets to the third round and plays through a few matches,” Robson told Tennis365 as she prepares to join the Eurosport and discovery+ team at Roland Garros.
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“He has so much confidence in these situations and you can only have that belief by winning as much as he has in his life.
“To beat him in a Slam is very, very tough to do. So I would put him in as one of the top three favourites for the tournament. Novak Djokovic is going to be just fine when he gets to a Slam.
“Everyone has dips, but he doesn’t have many. So when he does, it’s blown out of proportion.
“All players have times when they have periods where they are working on things in practice that they can’t put on to the match court, but if anyone can figure it out, it’s going to be Novak Djokovic. He knows what he needs to do in a best-of-five set match better than anybody.”
Robson joined the chorus of tennis observers who were by Djokovic’s decision to enter the Geneva Open this week, with his defeat against Mahac adding to the concern around the defending champion heading into Paris.
“I was really surprised to see him play a 250 this week,” continued Robson, as she reflected on his appearance in the lower-level ATP Tour event that has just 250 ranking points available to the winner.
“You want to be as fresh as possible heading into a Grand Slam because it is a long two weeks, so who knows how he will feel if he goes deep into the tournament in Geneva.
“You have to spend an extra hour out on the court, you have to deal with the nerves over potentially a long five-set match and that’s not always easy, but he has been around for long enough to understand what he needs ahead of a Slam.”
