Whisper it quietly but Novak Djokovic is already starting to look ominous at the French Open
Has the real Novak Djokovic turned up at the 2024 French Open?
World No 1 Djokovic has made a stuttering start to the season and he returned to Paris for his title defence with a 14-6 win-loss record as he not only failed to win a title during the first five months of the year, but also failed to reach a final.
Some had written him off as a challenger for the Roland Garros title as he had suffered a string of surprise defeats on clay in the build-up to the tournament, losing against Tomas Mahac in Geneva and Alejandro Tabilo in Rome.
But Djokovic is always confident in his own ability as before the tournament he admitted that he only had one goal in mind at the clay-court Grand Slam, stating: “I almost feel a bit embarrassed to say what my expectations are. Anything but a title for me is not satisfactory, so it always has been like that. I know it might sound arrogant to a lot of people, but I think I have the career that backs it up.”
Two matches into the French Open and it is already starting to feel like the old Djokovic is back as he has pulled off wins over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Roberto Carballes Baena.
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There is still a long way to go in the tournament, but his 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Carballes Baena was impressive and tennis pundit Tim Henman feels the “feel-good factor” is back.
“The cliché I used before the tournament was that form is temporary, class is permanent,” the former British No 1 said on Eurosport.
“His form hadn’t been great, but coming into a Grand Slam with his record there was certainly no panic.
“You see him hitting shots like that and really enjoying the atmosphere, the process of these types of matches. His form against Herbert was pretty ordinary but now he’s really stepped it up.
“When you pull off shots like this it’s just the feel-good factor and the confidence that he gets being out on the biggest stage, it’s ideal.
“When so many of the draw are having problems with the weather and they’re not completing their matches, for him to be through to the third round, straight sets in both matches, it’s a perfect start for Djokovic.”
The defending champion will look to continue his perfect start against Lorenzo Musetti in the third round on Friday.
Alex Corretja believes Djokovic has already proven that he is in better shape for the French Open than “we thought”.
“Novak looked so calm on the return, so focused,” the two-time Roland Garros runner-up said.
“It was very important for me to see the way he was looking into Carballes’ serve and it was huge, because all the time he knew exactly where he wanted to put the ball.
“It’s so annoying for the Spaniard to see as he served well and all of a sudden, he finds the ball already into his feet.
“Novak today showed he’s better than we thought at the beginning of the tournament.”
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