Rafa's perfect 10 puts Paris rivals on notice

'Long shot'

Djokovic admitted that he's "a long shot" to win Roland Garros where he would likely have to dethrone Nadal.

Djokovic may be world No 1, but it's Nadal who is the undisputed king of clay in the French capital where he has lost just twice in 102 matches since 2005.

"Going into Paris brings me a good sensation," insisted Djokovic despite a roller-coaster clay-court swing which yielded a last-16 exit in Monte Carlo and a semifinal loss on home ground in Belgrade.

Nadal, by comparison, has two titles in Rome and Barcelona but sobering quarterfinal losses in Monte Carlo and Madrid.

"I actually now started to feel like I actually want to feel on clay," added Djokovic. "So I think if I manage to play the way I played last night (against Sonego in a three-set semifinal) and today, I think I have a good chance to go all the way in Paris. Of course it's a long shot."

Djokovic has 18 Grand Slam titles to his name－two behind the record of 20 shared by Nadal and Roger Federer.

However, only one of those has come in Paris, in 2016 when Nadal withdrew injured after the second round. Djokovic was swept aside by Nadal in the 2020 final.

Before that, he had lost three other finals in Paris, two also to Nadal and one against Stan Wawrinka.

However, Djokovic still has a place in the record books to target as he hopes to become the first man in over half a century, and just the third in history, to win all four majors more than once.

Agencies