Djokovic’s Journey to Regain Form at Roland-Garros
PARIS — Despite having an impressive record of 100 titles, 24 Grand Slam trophies, and 428 weeks at the No. 1 spot in tennis history, Novak Djokovic still finds himself concerned about his performance at times. Just over a month ago, he was facing three consecutive losses, marking his second slump of that length in 2025. With the French Open on the horizon, he was particularly worried about starting the red clay season with an 0-2 record.
In an effort to regain his footing, Djokovic entered the Geneva Open, and since then, he has not lost a match, boasting an 8-0 record headed into his quarterfinal clash with No. 3 Alexander Zverev at Roland-Garros. After securing the championship in Geneva, Djokovic not only won his first four matches in Paris but also has yet to drop a set.
“It happens if you lose a match or two consecutively; you start to doubt your game, especially if you feel you haven’t had enough match play. You don’t want to be in that state of mind coming into Grand Slams,” said the 38-year-old Serbian. “I’m just glad it all turned out to be perfect for me in that sense.”
Djokovic and Zverev, the 28-year-old German player, are quite familiar with each other both on and off the court extreme 88 gaming. Their upcoming match will mark their 14th encounter since 2017, with Djokovic leading the series 8-5. Their last meeting was in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, which Djokovic had to retire from after just one set due to an injured hamstring, a decision that was met with boos from the crowd, though Zverev defended him afterwards. Their only previous match in Paris took place in 2019, where Djokovic emerged victorious in three sets.
As Zverev, who considers Djokovic a mentor, looked ahead to their match, he remarked, “It’s always a privilege to be on court with him.”
The other quarterfinal will feature No. 1 Jannik Sinner against unseeded Alexander Bublik, marking the first time a player from Kazakhstan has reached this stage in a Grand Slam tournament. Surprisingly, the first two men’s quarterfinals will include an American: defending champion Carlos Alcaraz from Spain will face No. 12 Tommy Paul, while No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy will go up against No. 15 Frances Tiafoe.
There had been discussions following Djokovic’s initial match losses in Monte Carlo and Madrid regarding whether he should still be considered a contender at Roland-Garros. This is despite his impressive track record at the event, where he has claimed the title three times and is notably the only player to have defeated 14-time champion Rafael Nadal more than once at the French Open. Both of Djokovic’s losses in April came against unseeded players, Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi, and both were decided in straight sets how many municipalities of nueva vizcaya.
When asked if Djokovic, whose recent struggles dropped him to No. 6 in the seedings, could be seen as a dark horse in Paris, Zverev dismissed the notion. The three-time major finalist stated, “I mean, the guy won 24 Grand Slams. He’s never going to be a dark horse. ph777 review He definitely knows how to play tennis and what it means to be on the big stage.”
As Djokovic seeks to continue his winning streak, how do you think he will perform against Zverev in the quarterfinals?
pgsoft