Djokovic faces tough start in quest for 25 as Roland Garros begins

PARIS: Novak Djokovic will headline the opening day of Roland Garros on Sunday as the 24-time Grand Slam champion begins his latest tilt at history.

Lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires for a fourth time would send the 39-year-old clear as the player with the most major titles.

Djokovic’s last Grand Slam title came at the US Open in 2023, and every subsequent major has been claimed by tennis’ two new dominant forces – Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

With double-defending champion Alcaraz missing through injury, Djokovic will enter his first-round match in the night session on Stade Philippe Chatrier against France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard knowing this may well be his best chance of claiming a record-breaking 25th crown.

“It’s been a lot of hours spent on the court and trying to perfect the game and the body and enable myself physically and game-wise to be ready for best of five (sets),” Djokovic told reporters Friday of his preparations as he returns from a shoulder issue.

“Let’s see. I don’t know whether that’s going to be the case for the entire tournament, however long that tournament will be for me.

“But Grand Slams have been, and I have said this many times, always the priority list, particularly in the last couple of years… So I can’t wait to get on a court and start competing.”

The third-seeded Serb enters the tournament with little match practice on clay after only competing in the Italian Open, where he was eliminated in his opening match earlier this month.

Djokovic is a different beast when it comes to Grand Slams. Despite his reduced participation in ATP tournaments in recent years, he has nonetheless reached at least the semi-finals at each of the past five majors.

He has, however, been handed a tough draw in the French capital.

First on the menu is former world number 29 Mpetshi Perricard, who, in addition to having one of the biggest serves on the tour, will also enjoy raucous home backing on Roland Garros’ centre court.

Second seed Alexander Zverev will also be in action on the opening day as the German faces home hope Benjamin Bonzi.

Rising stars Joao Fonseca of Brazil and Czech Jakub Mensik will both open their bids on Court Simonne Mathieu.

‘Never tricky’

Russia’s Mirra Andreeva will be the highest-ranked woman playing on Sunday. The eighth seed meets French wildcard Fiona Ferro on Philippe Chatrier.

“Of course it’s never tricky to play a French player, especially in Paris,” Andreeva joked.

“Because obviously the crowd is gonna support her as much as they can, and that’s totally okay. I mean, I have some experience even from last year when I played quarters, so I pretty much know what to expect.”

Last year, the 19-year-old stormed through to the last eight before falling to French sensation Lois Boisson in a match in which Andreeva received a warning from the umpire for blasting the ball into the crowd.

Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic will open play for the tournament on Philippe Chatrier against Austrian qualifier Sinja Kraus.

Former Grand Slam champions Sofia Kenin, Barbora Krejcikova and Emma Raducanu all start their French Open campaigns too.

Lilli Tagger of Austria, the 2025 junior champion who has drawn comparisons to four-time Roland Garros winner Justine Henin for her elegant single-handed backhand, will make her bow in the senior draw on court nine against Chinese 32nd seed Wang Xinyu. — AFP

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المصدر: New Straits Times