At the Roland Garros 2023, today is the Novak Djokovic’s day. The Serbian is looking for his very personal third title here in Paris, but he is above all eager to make the first overtaking of Rafael Nadal in the total calculation of the Grand Slams, with the two currently tied for 22.
Nole does not arrive at the prestigious French Open in optimal psycho-physical conditions. His journey on clay has so far been rather lacking in satisfactions. In Monte-Carlo and Banja Luka, the tennis player from Belgrade did not go beyond the second round, alarming his fans about his physical condition.
In Rome, things went a little better, but his journey was interrupted by the hand of Holger Rune, who beat him for the second time in a row, after last season’s Paris-Bercy final. Djokovic, seeded number 3, was overtaken in the ranking by Daniil Medvedev at the Internazionali d’Italia, and this determined the possible duel in the semifinals against Carlos Alcaraz, number one in the world.
However, the first round should be quite easy for the Balkan champion. The modest American Aleksander Kovacevic does not worry, but his words reported by TennisMajors do it, from which it is clear that time passes, even for an extraordinary athlete like him, who begins to feel, more than in past years, physical problems dictated by advancing age.
Djokovic talks about advancing age
The Serb explained: “I have more and more difficulties, I feel pain more often and the truth is that something always happens, almost every week I have some physical problem.
I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay motivated, considering this and the fact that I’ve already achieved almost everything that can be achieved in the world of tennis. I am very honest with you, I have asked myself several times how long I will feel the fire of competition to continue.”
The Serbian is motivated at the moment: “Right now the desire is still there, but I’m 36 and things can change quickly. The history of this sport is still in play, almost every tournament I can break some records, but I still have the desire to continue.”
On young players, who are making their way more and more: “There are more and more young people on the rise. I feel I have to set clear goals and plan a precise path to achieve them. We’ll see how long I want to keep pushing myself to the limit to try to win.”
Then on the chances of success here in Paris: “The fact that Rafa isn’t here changes things. I know I’ve won this tournament twice and I can play well. Furthermore, I feel at ease in the training week and the conditions of the slightly slower ball and pitch may favor me.”
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