Novak Djokovic is expected to enter Roland Garros having played just one match on clay so far this year.
Djokovic crashed out in the first round of the Italian Open with a loss to world number 79 Dino Prizmic.
Prizmic, aged 20, came back from a set down to defeat the Serb and advance to the third round, where he then beat Ugo Humbert.
How concerned are you about Novak Djokovic heading into Roland Garros?
After his early exit in Rome, Djokovic revealed he will not feature at the Geneva Open, where he is the defending champion, before heading to Paris.
With Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal, the 24-time major champion will have a great chance of making it 25 at Roland Garros, and former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski thinks he is hindering that chance with his latest scheduling decision.
Greg Rusedski suggests Novak Djokovic should play in Geneva
Speaking in an episode of ‘Off Court with Greg‘, Rusedski said: “Novak Djokovic lost in the first round against Prizmic. He’s been on fire.
“You know, he qualified in Madrid, had a deep run there, and qualified here again. So for Novak, that was a brutal first round because Prizmic was a former world number one junior, a lot of injuries we talked about.
“The last four months, he’s been healthy, and that’s been the key. And you know, watching Novak, I watched the match, and he played a very good first set, and he’s been practicing and putting in the hours, but it’s different when you come to play a match.
“And then in the second and third sets, he looked at times like he was getting a little tired because he hadn’t played since the American Swing. And that’s a long time to be away.
Can any of these four players stop Jannik Sinner winning the French Open this year?
Is there anyone else you think could be a threat to Sinner?
“And you’re talking about one of the all-time greats. So you’ve got to have that matchplay. And then you’ve got to have periods where you have time off to work on your game to get better.
“In Paris, they’ll hope for a little bit of an easier sort of roundup. And there are 32 seeds here [in Rome], but Prizmic was probably his worst nightmare as an opening match as well because of his form and the way he makes the points so long and so physical.
“And I almost feel that if I were on Novak’s team, I would try to convince him to play next week because, you know, he needs the matchplay.
“And last year, he made the semis doing that, but you can’t question Novak. He finds solutions, and he finds ways.”
Novak Djokovic’s preparation for Roland Garros last year
Djokovic reached the semifinals of Roland Garros last year, and his preparation certainly helped him.
He suffered two opening-round exits during the clay swing in 2025, having lost his first match in both Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
Both losses were shocking upsets, with Djokovic falling to Alejandro Tabilo in Monte-Carlo and Matteo Arnaldi in Madrid.
But Djokovic gave himself enough momentum before Roland Garros by featuring at the Geneva Open, where he beat the likes of Cameron Norrie and Hubert Hurkacz to claim his 100th ATP title.
Djokovic ultimately fell to Jannik Sinner in the French Open final four, losing to the Italian in straight sets.
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