Doubts disappear for Djokovic in chase for 25

The 24-time major winner lifted the trophy in Geneva on Sunday to take his tally of titles to 100. Now in the French capital, Novak is once again chasing another historic number, 25.

The all-conquering Serbian’s first port of call in Paris was to join his ‘Big 4’ rivals to honour Rafael Nadal on Court Philippe-Chatrier, which prompted the 38-year-old to contemplate his own drive and pursuit of further all-time greatness.

“Obviously talking to Federer and Murray about their goodbyes and reminiscing and reflecting on the rivalries, and of course part of me is proud that I'm still there, that I'm still going,” said Djokovic, who can become the first player to win 25 Grand Slams.

“But at the same time, I was, and I still am, a bit sad that they're all gone, because those guys were my greatest motivations of why I competed so intensely and for so long.

“Coming here with memories of the locker room celebration last year after the Olympic gold. But primarily to celebrate Rafa's career and Rafa's achievements in this tournament. It was a beautiful moment, really one of the nicest moments I have experienced on this court.”

A commanding 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 passage past American Mackenzie McDonald on Tuesday set the tone for another title tilt and maintained a 21-0 unblemished tally in Roland-Garros first rounds. Another record for the former world No.1.

It’s a far cry from Djokovic’s early clay court campaign this year, which yielded a 4-2 record leading in to Roland-Garros. His match play appeared disjointed in opening round defeats in Monte-Carlo and Madrid. However, in Geneva last week, he secured four wins, capped by an enthralling 5-7, 7-6(2), 7-6(2) comeback against Hubert Hurkacz.

“Winning the 100th title, that is a nice milestone, of course," Djokovic said. "But also, it doesn't maybe come as natural to play well from the blocks, from the very first tournaments of the season on clay.

“I'm the type of player that needs to get some matches under his belt before the big tournaments, the biggest one being Roland Garros and being the biggest priority on this surface.

“That's the biggest reason why I went to Geneva. I had family there, so I was feeling good off the court.

“It's a different feeling for me now than it was two, three weeks ago, for sure. If you lose a match or two consecutively, you don't feel you have enough match play, you start to maybe doubt your game. You don't want to be in that state of the mind coming into Grand Slams.

“I'm just glad it all turned out to be perfect for me in that sense, let's see how I'm able to play here in Paris.”

With Andy Murray departing the Djokovic coaching camp, the 2016, 2021 and 2023 Roland-Garros champion has turned to two familiar faces – Dusan Vemic and Boris Bosnjakovic – who have worked in his team in the past, to help steer the 38-year-old through the next fortnight.

Of course the number 25 has already popped up in conversations with the revitalised Djokovic.

Reigning Roland-Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz and world No.1 Jannik Sinner have dominated the major landscape, lifting the last five Grand Slams since Djokovic captured No.24 at US Open 2023.

Undeterred, the Serbian is still honing in on No.25. The whole tennis draw will know to never count out Novak.

“I actually was considering winning a 25th Grand Slam before so it hasn't changed much, but it's true that after the Geneva title I feel more confident,” the world No.6 added.

“I feel more positive about my level of play because I had a lot of concerns. But now, after Geneva, I feel better, I still have a lot of ambitions, I still have high objectives. I would like to maintain this high level, this dedication hopefully to reach the best possible result.”