French Open 2020: Novak Djokovic and his quest to end Rafa’s reign in Paris


French Open 2020: Novak Djokovic and his quest to end Rafa’s reign in Paris
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, World number one and top seed at the French Open this year will look to claim his 2nd French Open title this time around. The Serbian will surely try to put the disappointment of the US Open 2020 behind him, where he was defaulted in Round 4 (because of hitting the lines judge with the ball). The Serbian came roaring back winning the Italian Open 2020 last week and he enters the French Open in high spirits.

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If Novak Djokovic would have been asked of his favourite Grandslam it certainly would not be the French Open where he has only won once in 2016, after losing in the finals three times. He lost in the finals of the French Open in 2012 and 2014 to Rafael Nadal and to Stan Wawrinka in 2015 before finally winning the slam, defeating Andy Murray in the finals.

Novak Djokovic’s closest rival to his 2nd French open trophy is none other than Rafael Nadal who enters the tournament as the favourite and has already won 12 French Open titles. Djokovic and Nadal have faced each other at the French Open 7 times with the Spaniard getting better of Djokovic on 6 occasions and losing only once in 2015.

Can Djokovic claim his 2nd French Open title this time?

Novak Djokovic at the Italian Open 2020

Novak Djokovic enters the French Open 2020 in high confidence following his Italian Open title. However, Novak Djokovic has not been able to do well at the French Open in the past few years after his victory in 2016 in Paris. In 2017 and 2018, Novak got knocked out of the French Open in the quarterfinals and in 2019 he lost to Dominic Thiem in the semifinal.

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Many changes are taking place at the French Open this year with heavier Babolat balls replaced by lighter Wilson balls and cooler conditions because the French Open is generally played between May-June but however due to the Covid-19 disruption it has been shifted to September.

The lighter balls will bounce less and it will favour Djokovic. Both Nadal and Thiem would have loved to play with the heavier Babolat balls with their extra bounce. This gives the Serb an opportunity to make full use of the lighter balls to his favor with the possibility of him facing either Nadal or Thiem in the final.

Novak Djokovic starts off his campaign against M.Ymer in the 1st round and has a relatively comfortable draw till the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he might be up against Roberto Bautista Agut, with the possibility of facing Denis Shapovalov or Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. To his advantage, both Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal are on the other side of the draw. Djokovic is expected to play either of Thiem or Nadal in the final matchup at the French Open 2020.

The draw is certainly favorable for the Serbian. Nadal and Thiem both have tougher draws compared to Djokovic. Nadal returned to action last week after almost 9 months at the Italian Open and lost in the last 8 to Diego Schwartzman.

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Dominic Thiem too has not played any clay tournament after his US Open 2020 Grandslam win. With the conditions and draw favouring the Serbian, Djokovic has a good chance to go all the way this time in Paris and win his 2nd French Open title.

Also Read: French Open 2020: Can Rafa win his 13th title and equal Roger Federer’s record?