Novak Djokovic makes Rafael Nadal claim when asked about French Open favourites
Novak Djokovic named his great rival Rafael Nadal when asked to discuss the French Open favourites following his defeat to Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Australian Open.
The Serbian asserted he has “no doubt” that the ‘King of Clay’ will always be the “No 1 favourite” if he plays Roland Garros as he looked ahead to the year’s second major.
In the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Friday, world No 1 Djokovic saw his 33-match winning streak at the tournament end as he suffered a four-set loss to Sinner.
The convincing defeat to the world No 4 was Djokovic’s first ever loss in the last four of the Australian Open and just his second major defeat since falling to Nadal at the 2022 French Open.
The 24-time major winner is the defending French Open champion, having downed Casper Ruud in straight sets in the 2023 final to claim his third Roland Garros crown.
Nadal has won a remarkable record 14 French Open titles, but missed the clay-court Grand Slam for the first time since 2004 last year due to injury.
The 37-year-old Spaniard withdrew ahead of the Australian Open due to a hip muscle injury that surfaced during his comeback at the Brisbane International earlier this month.
Prior to Brisbane, Nadal had not played a singles match since losing to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, where he sustained a hip injury. The Spaniard underwent arthroscopic surgery to treat the psoas muscle in his hip in June 2023.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion is set to make his return next month, having entered the hard-court ATP 250 tournament in Doha that will begin on February 19.
READ MORE: Tennis legend warns not to write off Rafael Nadal as he assesses Spaniard’s French Open hopes
Following his first loss at the Australian Open since 2018, Djokovic was asked who he thought was the favourite to win the 2024 French Open as things stood.
“That’s really far away. Let’s see how, you know, how the players play in the next several months, particularly on the clay, in the clay season. It’s completely different surface, conditions,” the 36-year-old explained.
“Some players, you know, are probably more favourites than others on clay, you know, just because it’s kind of a surface that suits certain type of tennis players.
“But of course, you know, if Nadal is playing, he’s always a favourite there, No 1, no doubt. Regardless of the fact that he hasn’t played much, but he is who he is in Roland Garros.
“Of course Alcaraz, Sinner. Anybody that is on the top, you know. I think rankings-wise you can take the first five, ten players in the world, and everyone is a favourite to win. It still takes several months, so let’s see how everything evolves.”
The Serbian also addressed whether his defeat to Sinner in Melbourne allows him to appreciate the remarkable streak he had constructed.
“Well, I’m kind of hot-headed right now. After the match it’s very difficult to reflect on things in a more profound way. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few days’ time, but I definitely have a lot to be very proud of, about, in terms of what I have achieved here,” Djokovic said.
“The streak was going to end, you know, one day. It was going to happen, and, you know, at least I gave everything I possibly can under circumstances where I didn’t play well, and I lost to, you know, a player that has a very good chance to win his first Slam.
“That’s all it is. But yeah, this has been a very special city, best, by far, Grand Slam of my career. Yeah, I just hope that I’ll get a chance to come back, yeah, to play at least another time and go through the emotions once more.”
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner issues honest verdict on Novak Djokovic’s ‘focus’ as he makes ‘unusual’ confession
