“We know Novak Djokovic’s temperament” Andy Murray refuses to rule out the Serbian from winning the 2022 French Open
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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray
Currently catching the action from his home, Novak Djokovic has enough time to prepare himself for the upcoming Clay season where unlike Australia or the USA, he is likely to get entry in all countries that will be hosting various tournaments during the Golden Swing of the ATP Tour.
While his chances to participate at the 2022 French Open were slim given France looking to make vaccination compulsory for all its foreign nationals, the fall in cases for Covid-19 has allowed the country to welcome even the unvaccinated people that will see Djokovic being allowed to defend his title at Roland Garros this year.
While the majority of the players have been busy on the Tour, the well-rested Serbian could prove to be a massive force on Clay as he is waiting to get some playing time. As the hardcourt season is about to come at a halt for a while, former World No. 1 and Novak’s old foe Andy Murray spoke about the 20-time Grand Slam’s champion’s chances at the Roland Garros this year given Rafael Nadal is off to his best start to a season.
“As it stands today I would have to put Nadal as being the favourite to potentially win the French Open. Djokovic’s obviously had very little competitive tennis for a while, and Rafa’s obviously started the year very well and he’s maybe in a better position. He probably feels quite relaxed and maybe a little bit less pressure than was on him a couple of years ago.
“I wouldn’t count Novak out, for sure, but it’s not going to be easy because he’s obviously missed quite a lot of tennis. Novak played very little but he should not be excluded from the title race. Dismissing him would not be a good calculation because we obviously know his temperament,” said Murray in his press conference after his 2nd round defeat in Indian Wells Masters.
Novak Djokovic to return to action in Monte-Carlo, Andy Murray to skip Clay
The 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters will begin from 10th April and Novak is set to play his second tournament of the season in Monaco where he is a 2-time champion from the 4 finals he has played so far at the tournament. Post his visit to Monaco, Novak will return back home for the Serbian Open in Belgrade skipping the Barcelona Open that begins simultaneously with the event in Belgrade.
As for Murray, the Brit stays firm on his decision to skip the Clay season and be fit for the Grass season where he stands the best chance to win a silverware, unlike Clay which will be a challenging surface for him given his physical limitations and does not wish to risk any injury.
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Sarthak Shitole
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