Novak Djokovic is searching for his 25th Major title at this year’s French Open tournament.
The Serbian legend last won in Paris two years ago when he beat Casper Ruud to clinch his third Roland Garros title.
He failed in his bid to defend the French Open title in 2024, withdrawing due to injury ahead of his quarterfinal match.
Returning in 2025, Djokovic secured an impressive 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over America’s Mackenzie McDonald in round one.
After the match, a former ATP star shared his thoughts on Djokovic’s performance and highlighted the one question he has for the 38-year-old.
Tim Henman questions whether Novak Djokovic has the ‘energy’ for a deep run at Roland Garros
During his post-match analysis for TNT Sports, former world number four Tim Henman gave his verdict on the 24-time Major champion’s title hopes.
“He had such a good week in Geneva last week, winning his 100th title,” said Henman.
“I guess the slight question mark at the age of 38, whether that’s going to have taken a bit of energy out of him.
“If he wants to have a deep run here playing best of five set matches, he’s got to make sure those tanks of energy are full.”
Djokovic won the Geneva Open last week, clinching his 100th tour-level title with a thrilling three-set win over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
Carrying that momentum forward to the French Open, Djokovic started well, but grew frustrated during the first set, as rain and wind affected the action on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic complained to the umpire, requesting he close the roof, as Henman now says whether he thinks the conditions played a role in the outcome.
“I think both players, early on in that first set when there was a little bit of drizzle in the air, it was pretty miserable conditions, [Novak] Djokovic was perhaps saying, we’ve got the roof, why don’t we use it?” said Henman.
“Eventually, he got his wish, which takes the wind element out of play. It means you can play much cleaner tennis, can take the ball earlier, lower over the net, can hit closer to the lines, and that’s the way Djokovic likes to play.
“I think Djokovic was a clear favorite, I don’t care what surface they play on, he’s going to find a way to get the job done.
“As the match went on with the roof closed, Djokovic was able to play that aggressive tennis, cut down the unforced errors. He looked very comfortable.”
Advancing to the second round after less than two hours of action (1hr 58 mins), Djokovic produced a stellar display to dispatch his American opponent.
| Player | Aces | 1st Serve % | 1st Serve points won % | 2ns Serve points won % | Break points won | Winners | Unforced errors |
| Novak Djokovic | 7 | 66% | 81% | 71% | 5/9 | 32 | 20 |
| Mackenzie McDonald | 6 | 66% | 60% | 48% | 1/5 | 14 | 28 |
He’ll certainly be looking for another performance like that when he returns to take on a home favorite in the second round.
The three ATP players with the longest active winning streaks
All three players who won tournaments in the lead-up to the French Open advanced to the second round in Paris without dropping a set.
Novak Djokovic – 5 matches unbeaten
The 38-year-old has won his previous five matches, a run that began in Geneva last week, where he won the title.
- 2025 French Open 1R – Novak Djokovic beat Mackenzie McDonald
- 2025 Geneva Open F – Novak Djokovic beat Hubert Hurkacz
- 2025 Geneva Open SF – Novak Djokovic beat Cameron Norrie
- 2025 Geneva Open QF – Novak Djokovic beat Matteo Arnaldi
- 2025 Geneva Open 2R – Novak Djokovic beat Marton Fucsovics
Flavio Cobolli – 6 matches unbeaten
Italy’s Flavio Cobolli won the biggest title of his career last time out, when he took down Andrey Rublev in the Hamburg final.
- 2025 French Open 1R – Flavio Cobolli beat Marin Cilic
- 2025 Hamburg Open F – Flavio Cobolli beat Andrey Rublev
- 2025 Hamburg Open SF – Flavio Cobolli beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry
- 2025 Hamburg Open QF – Flavio Cobolli beat Roberto Bautista Agut
- 2025 Hamburg Open 2R – Flavio Cobolli beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
- 2025 Hamburg Open 1R – Flavio Cobolli beat Vitaliy Sachko
Winning his Roland Garros opener against Marin Cilic, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3, the 23-year-old extended his winning run to six matches, the second best of any player in the men’s game.
Carlos Alcaraz – 7 matches unbeaten
If Carlos Alcaraz hadn’t beaten Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2025 Italian Open, Sinner would be top of this list, having won 28 consecutive matches.
- 2025 French Open 1R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Giulio Zeppieri
- 2025 Italian Open F – Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner
- 2025 Italian Open SF – Carlos Alcaraz beat Lorenzo Musetti
- 2025 Italian Open QF – Carlos Alcaraz beat Jack Draper
- 2025 Italian Open 4R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Karen Khachanov
- 2025 Italian Open 3R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Laslo Djere
- 2025 Italian Open 2R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Dusan Lajovic
Luckily for the Spaniard, he came away with the win and continued on his way with a seventh-straight win in the first round of the French Open against another Italian, Giulio Zeppieri.
It remains to be seen if any of the trio will finish this year’s French Open unbeaten, but it’ll certainly be something to keep an eye on.
Alcaraz will take on Fabian Marozsan in the second round on Wednesday, May 28, while Cobolli and Djokovic return on Thursday, May 29.
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