Former Grand Slam doubles champion Michael Llodra thinks Novak Djokovic needs more matches ahead of the French Open as he underlined that a great champion like Djokovic can never be ruled out.
Djokovic basically missed the entire first three months of the season, before playing two tournaments in April.
After an early exit in Monte Carlo, Djokovic bounced back with a final appearance in Belgrade.
Djokovic’c path to the Belgrade final wasn’t smooth but he managed to win three tight matches, before losing to Andrey Rublev in the final.
Djokovic is now set to play in Madrid, where he won the title when he last played at the tournament (2019).
“Djokovic is still there, but he lacks matches and benchmarks. We saw that in Monte-Carlo and Belgrade. But with these champions, it can come back very quickly. He’s going to need matches to find the rhythm,” Llodra said, per Sportskeeda.
Djokovic focused on preparing well for the French Open
In Belgrade, Djokovic underlined that his No. 1 priority is to be at his best when the time comes for the French Open.
“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,” Djokovic said.
In the Belgrade final, Djokovic collapsed in the third set.
After the match, Djokovic voiced certain concerns.
“It’s a bit worrysome, I can only assume it’s because of the illness that hit me a few weeks ago. But I have to look at the positives, I’ve won three matches from a set down,” Djokovic said.
However, Djokovic added he wasn’t concerned about that and that he should be fine in the upcoming period.
Djokovic would certainly love to make a deep run in Madrid as that would give him matches and a boost of confidence.
Djokovic is a three-time Madrid champion.