No one should write off Novak Djokovic prematurely. Whether the Serb will be able to repeat his triumph at the French Open in 2016, however, was not clear enough from his first appearance.
By Jens Huiber from Paris
Watching Novak Djokovic practice is still something big. Be it on one of the back places in Jean Bouin, where the former world number one Sunday noon with Stan Wawrinka was looking for the final polish for the French Open 2018, or Monday morning on the Court Philippe Chatrier – where Djokovic shared the place with first-round opponent Rogerio Dutra Silva.
The Serb has turned back time, Gebhard Gritsch and Marian Vajda are at his side. And Boris Becker is not far away either, after all the red baron is following the tournament at the Bois de Boulogne for the broadcasting TV station Eurosport.
Djokovic needed three sets for his first performance, the minimum. Everything else would have come as a surprise, even if the father of two still had a hard time at the beginning of the year. The semi-final in Rome, and especially the first set against Rafael Nadal, that was tennis of a quality that was already close to the top level of Novak Djokovic. But just one sentence long. Is the power enough for three strong runs? What about concentration, determination?
Djokovic, as an event last Wednesday at his racket supplier HEAD showed, seems very thoughtful these days. A seeker, not only on the tennis court, but above all next to it. With all due respect to the sporting management for brand colleague Alexander Zverev, it is above all the human component that impresses Djokovic at the German number one.
Athletically, the man from Belgrade is not unattractive, instead of the eternal David Ferrer now waits in round two Jaume Munar. Djokovic can play away all opponents outside the top ten, still. The backhand he shows in training flies like a string, three or four times – but not eight times like in his big days.
The tennis fan does not have to worry about a twelve-time Grand Slam champion in any way. But every big tournament is a better one if Novak Djokovic is close to the top of the world. Whether he can do that in the next two weeks was not clear enough from his game against Dutra Silva.