Novak Djokovic has named his great rival Rafael Nadal as a French Open favorite after his defeat to Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Australian Open.
The World No. 1 admitted that he has no doubt that the 22-time Grand Slam champion will always be the No. 1 favorite if he plays on Parisian clay.
Djokovic’s 33-match winning streak was snapped at the hands of World No. 4, Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal on Friday as the former bow down against the latter in a four-set loss. It was Djokovic’s first ever loss in the final four of the Australian Open across his illustrious Major career and also his second Grand Slam loss since falling to Nadal at the 2022 Roland Garros.
The legendary Serbian is a defending French Open champion and won the 2023 title in straight sets after dismantling Norwegian Casper Ruud in straight sets. Nadal has won the French Open crown for an astonishing 14-times but missed his favorite tournament for the first time since 2004 because of the hip injury.
The former World No. 1 pulled out of 2024 Australian Open upon a much awaited comeback because of a hip muscle he injured at the Brisbane International earlier in the first week of January.
Before Brisbane, Nadal has not competed in a singles match since losing to Mackenzie McDonald in the R2 of the 2023 Australian Open, where he sustained the first blow to his hip muscles. He eventually went on to have a procedure on the psoas muscle in June 2023.
Nadal is set to make his return to the ATP tour next month, having signed for ATP 250 tournament in Doha that starts on Feb 19.
Following his first loss at the Australian Open since 2018, Djokovic was quizzed who he thought was the favorite to win the 2024 Roland Garros title.
“That’s really far away. Let’s see how, you know, how the players play in the next several months, particularly on the clay, in the clay season. It’s completely different surface, conditions,” the 36-year-old explained.
“Some players, you know, are probably more favourites than others on clay, you know, just because it’s kind of a surface that suits certain type of tennis players.
“But of course, you know, if Nadal is playing, he’s always a favourite there, No 1, no doubt. Regardless of the fact that he hasn’t played much, but he is who he is in Roland Garros.
“Of course Alcaraz, Sinner. Anybody that is on the top, you know. I think rankings-wise you can take the first five, ten players in the world, and everyone is a favourite to win. It still takes several months, so let’s see how everything evolves.”
The 36-year-old also addressed whether his loss to the Italian sensation at Melbourne Park allows him to appreciate his remarkable streak at the Happy Slam.
“Well, I’m kind of hot-headed right now. After the match it’s very difficult to reflect on things in a more profound way. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few days’ time, but I definitely have a lot to be very proud of, about, in terms of what I have achieved here,” Djokovic said.
“The streak was going to end, you know, one day. It was going to happen, and, you know, at least I gave everything I possibly can under circumstances where I didn’t play well, and I lost to, you know, a player that has a very good chance to win his first Slam.
“That’s all it is. But yeah, this has been a very special city, best, by far, Grand Slam of my career. Yeah, I just hope that I’ll get a chance to come back, yeah, to play at least another time and go through the emotions once more.”