WHEN Roger Federer announced he would be skipping the three clay-court Masters 1000 events this year, Toni Nadal, Rafa’s coach, made a joke that revealed a lot more than usual.
“I would have preferred that it were Djokovic who rested until Roland Garros,” he said.
Federer eventually decided he would not play the French Open, choosing to prepare for Wimbledon, where he has
the best chance of adding to his 18 Grand Slam titles.
Even if he were in the field, Novak and Rafa would have been the two favourites in Paris, the Serb defending his title and the Spaniard going for a record 10th Roland Garros crown.
If the seedings go to plan, the pair will meet in the semi-finals, with the winner likely to be heavily fancied to take the title a fortnight today.
Toni Nadal would not have known it, but a lot has changed in the past two months, though, with his nephew having rediscovered his best form on his beloved clay and Djokovic still trying to regain his former aura of invincibility.
Having reached the Australian Open final and two other finals in 2017 before starting on the clay, Nadal arrived in Monte Carlo with his confidence high. But the manner of his victories then, and then in Barcelona and Madrid, the latter which included a drubbing of Djokovic, has re-established his status as the king of clay.
“I played well on hard, then played great on clay,” said Nadal, who plays Frenchman Benoît Paire in round one. “Three events I have won have been very important for me. It’s obvious that here is probably the most important event in my career, without a doubt. I don’t mean this year. The event by itself. And it makes me happy to feel myself competitive and play well in every event that I played.”
Djokovic, meanwhile, has shown signs in recent weeks that he is getting closer to his best after a slump that began shortly after his victory here last year.
Completing the career Grand Slam took away some of the burning desire that made Djokovic such a dominant figure, while off-court issues also affected him as he lost his No 1 ranking to a marching Andy Murray.
Things came to a head last month when Djokovic announced he was parting with his whole coaching team, including long-term mentor Marian Vajda. But his announcement that he is to work with former world No 1 Andre Agassi, at least for some of the French Open, seems to have galvanised him and the 30-year-old looked a different animal in reaching the final in Rome.
Having Agassi, as shrewd a judge of an opponent as anyone, in his ear is sure to boost Djokovic’s mood and the Serb’s face lit up when he discussed their early interactions.
“We clicked and connected very fast,” Djokovic said. “He’s someone that inspires me a lot. He is someone that knows exactly what I’m going through, on the court, off the court.
“He has been through all these transitions, he has been in my shoes before playing Grand Slams, being the best in the world, and facing all the challenges.”
Former champion Stan Wawrinka is always dangerous, and then there is Dominic Thiem and the young German, Alexander Zverev, who won the title in Rome.
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski, who will be working for Eurosport during the French Open, said even Djokovic will find it tough to just turn back on his best form.
“Everybody thought, oh he beat Thiem (in Rome), he’s definitely going to beat Zverev (in the final), he’s back,” he said.
“He’s not back yet – you can’t flip a switch for a year or three or four months you’ve had off – it takes a little more momentum than that.”
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