Although clay isn’t his favourite surface by any means, Novak Djokovic is still a formidable opponent on the courts of Roland-Garros.
However, the three-time French Open champion faces a race to be in time for the 2024 edition after suffering a bizarre injury at the Italian Open.
The Serbian was signing autographs for fans after his second-round win over Corentin Moutet, when a metal water bottle fell out of a fan’s backpack high up in the stands and struck Djokovic on the head.
He complained of nausea and dizziness in his third-round defeat at the same event, meaning he will now undergo tests ahead of the defence of his French Open title.
Feeling the Pain
Despite suffering such an unexpected ailment, the French Open odds have not responded too wildly to Djokovic’s predicament.
Indeed, the 34-year-old is still considered to be the second favourite to win the event as per the tennis odds, with a price of 11/4 indicative of his chances despite his self-confessed lack of love for clay courts.
Djokovic might ordinarily want a more comprehensive set of prep matches ahead of the French Open, but decided to skip the ATP Tour events in Barcelona, Munich, and Madrid.
He did compete at the Monte Carlo Masters in April, beating the likes of in-form Alex de Minaur before going down in the semi-finals to Casper Ruud.
Djokovic was out-fought and out-thought by the Norwegian, so a strong showing in Italy was vital for his own confidence heading into Roland-Garros.
He saw off the threat of Moutet with consummate ease, racking up a 6-3 6-1 victory in quick time – before suffering his potential head injury in the immediate aftermath.
Thank you for the messages of concern. This was an accident and I am fine resting at the hotel with an ice pack. See you all on Sunday. #IBI24
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) May 10, 2024
Djokovic gave it a go next time out against Alejandro Tabilo, but he was evidently struggling from the get-go – losing to the Chilean 2-6 3-6 in barely an hour. It was Tabilo’s first-ever victory over a top-ten-ranked opponent.
Maybe, Maybe Not
The Serbian had made light of the situation earlier in the week, jokingly donning a bicycle helmet to a training session ahead of his game against Tabilo.
But Djokovic admitted he was feeling the effects of the unfortunate incident. “I managed to sleep okay, I had headaches,” Djokovic said when quizzed about his possible head injury. “The next day, or yesterday, was pretty fine, so I thought, ‘It’s okay’. Maybe it is okay. Maybe it’s not.”
He complained of a lack of rhythm, balance, and tempo in his game against Tabilo, admitting that it felt like “a different player entered my shoes”.
Alejandro Tabilo beats Novak Djokovic in big upset at Italian Open https://t.co/cVbqFoUhm2 pic.twitter.com/6yuOHChs8Z
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 12, 2024
The hope is that some rest will enable Djokovic to be fighting fit for the French, although a lack of match practice on the clay may yet prove catastrophic to his title hopes.
Another member of the ‘golden generation’ of tennis continues his own comeback on clay. Rafael Nadal was dumped out of the Italian Open by Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets, but the Spaniard has shown glimpses of his old self in what many expect to be his retirement year.
Could we yet see a grand Djokovic vs Nadal final at Roland-Garros?
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