PARIS, Sept 26, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Novak Djokovic will renew his love-hate
relationship with Roland Garros in the knowledge that it is himself rather
than seemingly unsettled 12-time champion Rafael Nadal who could pose the
greatest threat to winning a second Paris title and 18th Grand Slam crown.
The only man to beat Djokovic in 2020 is Djokovic after the Serb’s hair-
trigger temper prompted a sensational disqualification from the US Open.
The 33-year-old arrives in the French capital with a 31-1 record this year
after his New York brain-fade was followed by a record 36th Masters title in
Rome.
Djokovic’s 2016 triumph at Roland Garros allowed him to become only the
third man after Don Budge and Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slams at the
same time.
Not even Nadal, the holder of 19 majors, or Roger Federer, with a record 20
Slams, can match that staggering achievement.
Federer will miss the French Open as he rehabs his injured knee while Nadal
has played just three matches since February, a ring-rustiness evident in his
quarter-final exit in Rome.
However, Djokovic refused to get carried away by his chances at Roland
Garros ahead of Sunday’s start in a wet and chilly Paris.
“It’s Nadal,” insisted the world number one when pushed on who is the
favourite. “You just can’t put anybody in front of him.”
Djokovic is right to be cautious after experiencing numerous low points on
the red clay of Paris.
In the 2012 final against Nadal, having won eight games in a row, he was up
a break and pushing to level the match at two sets apiece when rain brought
an overnight suspension.
Play resumed the following day but Djokovic’s momentum was lost and a
double-fault on championship point completed his misery.
Twelve months later, Djokovic was poised for a semi-final win over Nadal
with just a routine putaway required to help give him a 5-3 final set lead
and a chance to serve for the match.
However, he chose a smash rather than a soothing touch. He tumbled into the
net, losing the point and Nadal pounced to eventually take the tie after four
hours and 37 minutes.
In 2018, he lost a quarter-final to world number 72 Marco Cecchinato while
last year he was beaten in the semi-finals by Dominic Thiem.
That match took two days to complete, featured numerous rain stoppages and
winds so strong that a courtside umbrella was sent flying across court.
– ‘Ball is dangerous’ –
Djokovic will start his tournament against Sweden’s Mikael Ymer, the world
number 80.
Nadal, who skipped the defence of his US Open title due to fears over
coronavirus, eyes a 13th French Open.
Since his title-winning debut in 2005, the Spaniard has only lost twice at
Roland Garros in 95 matches – to Robin Soderling in 2009 and Djokovic in
2015.
The 34-year-old may appear to be under-cooked after his last-eight exit in
Rome to Diego Schwartzman.
However, the last time he suffered such an early departure from the Italian
capital was in 2017 — just weeks later he was lifting a 10th French Open
without dropping a set.
Nadal cut an unsettled figure at a pre-tournament press conference on
Friday where he admitted the cold and damp conditions forced him to face his
“most difficult ever Roland Garros”.
He is also unhappy about using a new brand of ball.
“For the health of the players, the ball is super heavy and becomes
dangerous for the elbow and for the shoulders,” he said.
Nadal begins his campaign against Egor Gerasimov, the 83rd-ranked
Belarusian.
The unusual sight of Roland Garros being played in the autumn also means
radically different conditions to those expected in its normal time slot of
May and June.
– Murray v Wawrinka first round –
That could suit newly-crowned US Open winner Thiem who has lost the last
two finals to Nadal in Paris.
The world number three Austrian has 17 career titles with 10 of those on
clay.
Four of his five wins over Nadal have come on clay with three of four
victories against Djokovic carved out on the sport’s most testing surface.
This year, Thiem will be in the same half of the draw as Nadal and starts
against Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open winner and a former world number three.
World number five Daniil Medvedev has yet to win a match at the tournament
in three visits while sixth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas made the last 16 in
2019, losing a five-set marathon to 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.
Wawrinka faces fellow three-time major winner Andy Murray in the first
round on Sunday in a rematch of their 2017 semi-final epic, a tie which
Murray described as the clash which “ended his hip”.