World No. 1 Novak Djokovic says that he is “in a good state of mind and body” in his bid to capture a second Roland Garros crown.
“The win in Belgrade gave me great preparation,” the 34-year-old said. “I’m in a good state of mind and body, striking the ball well. Now it’s really about just taking it step by step, being in the present moment [and] trying to build the form so I can play better and better as the tournament progresses.”
The Serbian superstar came into the clay-court Grand Slam on the back of beating Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday in the Belgrade Open final. He has a 20-3 record on the season, including his 18th major crown in February with his ninth Australian Open title.
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Djokovic has been placed in the same quarter of the draw as Roger Federer, who opened his Roland Garros campaign with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Denis Istomin on Monday in Paris. The 2016 titlist could face Rafael Nadal, the 13-time champion, in the semi-finals.
“When you speak about Rafa, you know that he's always going to give you his best on any surface,” said Djokovic, who leads Nadal 29-28 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “He's always going to produce some great quality tennis, particularly on clay. That's his most preferred surface. That's where he's always at his best.
“Record-wise [in the] past four or five matches that I lost to him on clay, some close ones, some that he dominated, was probably due to the level of tennis that I played. That [I] just wasn't meeting his level, when his level on clay is always there, always very high."
Nadal leads Djokovic 19-7 in clay-court matches, including victories in their past six matches.
“If you don't produce a high level of performance on this surface, you have no chance to win the match on this surface against him." said Djokovic. "I know there's a build-up potentially for that match-up in semi-finals. There's a lot of obstacles to overcome for both of us. If we get there, of course I know what [is] expected [of] me and I know what I need to do.
“Last year, I had a great tournament, but in the [Roland Garros] final he was just playing amazing tennis and I couldn't do much. Hopefully, if I get a chance to play him another time here, the level of my tennis will be different because, like in Rome, for example, [it] was very close until the last shot… [The] final in Rome gives me good sensation and kind of [a] good feeling prior to potential match-up here. But I [will] try to focus [on] one day at a time. I'm sure he will do too.”
Djokovic will play his first-round match on Wednesday night from 9pm against American Tennys Sandgren.
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