Djokovic wants momentum ahead of French Open

BELGRADE • Novak Djokovic said on Monday that he is aiming to be "as ready as I can be" for the French Open, as he prepares for just his third tournament of the season in Belgrade this week.

The world No. 1 was deported from Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open in January over his unvaccinated status, before also missing Indian Wells and the Miami Open as both tournaments required players to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

In his absence, Spain's Rafael Nadal won a record 21st Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne, moving out of a tie with Djokovic and Swiss Roger Federer.

Djokovic will be hoping to match his great rival's tally at the French Open but his lack of match time has raised many questions, with Roland Garros starting on May 22.

The 34-year-old has played only four matches since the ATP Finals in November and he looked out of sorts as he lost his last-32 opener to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters last week.

Djokovic hopes the Serbia Open can be the start of a consistent run in order to build momentum.

"Roland Garros is the quintessential clay-court tournament and I'm partly already there in my thoughts, in terms of preparation and everything I'm doing at the moment to get there as ready as I can be," he said.

Djokovic added he was planning to play in the May 1-8 Madrid Masters and the May 8-15 Italian Open ahead of the second Slam of the year.

"My current plans include Madrid and Rome," he said.

"It depends, really, on my result here and the shape I'm in. We'll decide then."

On how unfit he looked in Monte Carlo, Djokovic said: "I was not fully ready for the tournament in Monte Carlo and I knew that before the tournament started.

"However, I need match practice and this is the surface (clay) that requires a lot of time spent on the court during training sessions, and even more during matches. I hope to play more matches in Belgrade than (I did) in Monte Carlo."

Djokovic won an ATP event in the Serbian capital last season, the week before the start of the French Open, which he won for the second time despite trailing Stefanos Tsitsipas by two sets in the final.

"I had never before played a tournament in the week ahead of Roland Garros but last year I decided to do just that.

"Because it was Belgrade and I needed the feeling that the audience is the wind beneath my wings. It came true, I won the tournament and it turned out I made a good decision ahead of the French Open."

Top seed Djokovic enters the tournament in the second round, where he will face compatriot Laslo Djere, who defeated Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 7-5 yesterday.

He could have faced former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, but the Austrian lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to John Millman in his first tour-level match in 10 months after a series of injury setbacks.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE