Novak Djokovic has been dominant over the past two years and the tennis star is primed to try and win his first career French Open grand slam and to do so he will like have to get past the most dominant player at the tournament in Rafael Nadal, who has looked nearly unbeatable this year after coming back from a knee injury that kept him out for the back half of last year.
Djokovic was able to win the title at Monte Carlo over Nadal to give him some confidence heading into the French, but Rafa has been playing back to form and he has appeared in all eight finals of the tournaments he has played in and he has won five titles on clay heading into the major, where he has won seven titles, including last year along with Maria Sharapova. The women's draw will have a tough time against Serena Williams, who enters the French after one of the best stretches of her career, winning over 20 matches in a row as she looks for her second career title at Roland Garros.
Djokovic said that the French Open is his number one priority on tour this year after not being able to take one previously and he will likely have to beat Nadal again in the semifinals to do so. Djokovic will join Federer and Nadal as players who have won the career slam and Djokovic has been the most dominant player since Federer has faded with old age, while Nadal has started to break down due to his knees, but he appears to be back after taking time off to heal and clearly it worked based on the way he has played.
Djokovic repeatedly stressed on Friday that the French Open was "the number one priority of my year, of my season". With the stakes set high, the Serbian felt confident going into his first-round match against baby-faced Belgian David Goffin as he had beaten Nadal in last month's Monte Carlo Masters final. Just before his pre-tournament conference at Roland Garros on Friday, the moderator announced: "Novak has requested he would like to answer only questions about his first‑round opponent, nothing else to do with the draw at all, top half, bottom half, and he's asked his team not to mention anything about the draw, either.
If Djokovic cannot face the fact that he will meet unheralded journeymen Croatian Ivan Dodig or Argentine Guido Pella in the second round, one can only guess how shocked the world number one will be when he discovers he will probably have to face seven-times Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. Djokovic narrowly missed out on joining a select band of players, which includes rivals Nadal and Roger Federer, who have won all four slams when he was beaten in the final last year and he desperately wants to complete his collection over the next fortnight.
"I won Monte Carlo tournament. I mean, that was important for my confidence level," Djokovic told reporters.
"Prior to Roland Garros, that is the most important tournament on clay, and I won against the best player on this surface, Nadal, who we all know how good he is on clay.
"So that win against him can give me that necessary mental belief, self belief prior to this tournament."
(Reuters Quotes)