Djokovic: I’ll miss Rafa . . . but not too much!

History chaser bids to make most of next fortnight

NOVAK DJOKOVIC confessed to some mixed emotions as he contemplates his latest shot at the French Open, with its Rafael Nadal-shaped void.

‘Honestly I don’t miss Rafa being in the draw here,’ said the 36-year-old Serbian, whose chances of victory a fortnight from now are much-enhanced by the absence of the 14-time champion.

That eventuality would see Djokovic pull one ahead in their contest to see who can end up with the most Grand Slam titles. He also insisted that there was a tinge of sadness when the news came through that Nadal had succumbed to his hip injury.

‘After he announced that he’s going to have his last season of his career I felt part of me is leaving with him too,’ said Djokovic. ‘I feel that he was one of the most impactful people in my career.

‘Definitely a great motivational factor for me to keep playing and keep competing and keep pushing each other, who’s going to achieve more, who’s going to do better. It made me wonder about my career and how long I’m going to play. I felt also a little bit emotional about what he was saying.’

Lest anyone think that Djokovic has become a great sentimentalist when it comes to winning titles, he was nothing other than bullish yesterday when it came to discussing his prospects of taking advantage of Nadal’s demise.

Of course playing over the best of five sets is a whole different dynamic to what happens on the regular tour, and Djokovic’s mastery of pacing himself gives him a considerable advantage over his challengers.

Nonetheless it must be of some concern that he has only played a total of 12 matches in four tournaments since winning the Australian Open at the end of January (partly due to the tail end of his ban from the US for being unvaccinated).

He has not gone beyond the quarter-finals in his three clay court events as part of his 5-3 record on the European clay, and has lost to compatriot Dusan Lajovic, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti and in Rome to Denmark’s Holger Rune.

Djokovic was correct to point out the separate nature of the Majors: ‘Grand Slams are a different sport in a way,’ he said. ‘I know how to live in these two weeks. Best-offive, played every second day. I think it actually serves me well, this kind of format, because it allows me to have some time to recover between the matches and slowly build my form.’

It is key that he manages to work his way into the tournament, and he will start against an American of Serbian origin, the little-known Aleksandar Kovacevic. He also reported no physical problems after facing persistent soreness in his elbow. Djokovic did acknowledge that the range of potential winners was the widest it has been in many years. It is probably the least predictable since he played his first Roland Garros in 2005.

As he is only seeded No 3, he could play marginal favourite Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals, but there are others who can claim that they will have a say. Rune has beaten him twice in their last two meetings, while Daniil Medvedev is finally looking a threat on clay. Stefanos Tsitsipas and young Italian Jannik Sinner could be dangerous and Felix Auger-Aliassime took Nadal to five sets a year ago.

The main women’s draw gets underway this morning with a potentially fiery match between one of the favourites, Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, and Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine.

Kostyuk has been arguably the most outspoken of the Ukrainian players against the participation of those from Russia and Belarus.