Mats Wilander warns that Novak Djokovic has a ‘problem’ which may prevent French Open success
Mats Wilander believes that the 2025 edition of the French Open may be Novak Djokovic’s ‘last’, and that the former world No 1 has a ‘problem’ which may prevent him from winning the title.
Djokovic is due to open his French Open campaign against Mackenzie McDonald, an opponent who he has never faced.
However, seven-time Grand Slam champion Wilander has stated that the Serb may suffer from his opponents having increased confidence, due to a lack of high-quality results produced by Djokovic this season.
“There’s a possibility that it’s his last French Open,” analysed Wilander, whilst speaking to the Metro.
“Once you get to five-set tournaments, where he’s won so many of them, I think [his] confidence will come soaring back. The only problem is that other players suddenly believe that they can beat Novak Djokovic and that’s something that they haven’t believed before.
“That makes every match much more complicated. When matches are more complicated, suddenly you have three matches in a row which are four hours or more and that becomes a physical issue.
“He hasn’t had those problems before because he’s been so much better than everybody. In the past, he’d get a straightforward win where he wouldn’t need much energy at all.
“Suddenly, guys believe they can beat him and therefore the matches will be tougher. It’s a new chapter in his career. It’s looking forward to seeing how he can handle it.”
Most recently, Djokovic lifted a 100th singles title at the ATP 250 event in Geneva – beating Hubert Hurkacz in a third-set tiebreak – becoming just the third man in the Open Era to reach the milestone.
The last time that the Serb stepped onto the Philippe Chatrier court, the former world No 1 won the elusive Olympic gold at the men’s singles event, beating Carlos Alcaraz in an exhilarating final showdown.
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Wilander also argued that, although their on-court relationship is over, the 24-time Grand Slam champion will have ‘learned so much’ from Andy Murray, who coached him for the first six months of the season.
“He made the final of Miami, so the level is really high, and he most probably learned so much from spending a few months with Andy Murray, and I think he’ll be inspired now that it’s best-of-five sets,” stated the Swede.
“He’ll be inspired to go back to Paris because he won the Olympics there. And then obviously for him, Wimbledon is going to be the tournament where he has the best chance to win his 25th Grand Slam. So I think when the motivation runs out for Novak Djokovic, we won’t see him anymore.
“There’s no way he shows up unless he feels 100 per cent in terms of motivation. So I am dying to see Novak Djokovic over the next month and a half, and see what he can do in the next two Grand Slams.”
Djokovic has been incredibly successful at the Parisian Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals or further on 12 occasions – winning the title in 2016, 2021, and 2023.
