- Won the Australian Open, and four out of the five Masters 1000 events. He did not compete in Madrid.
- Has a 22 match winning streak with his last loss coming against Federer in the Dubai final in February.
- Defeated Federer, Murray & Berdych in finals this year and also Nadal in the Monte Carlo semi-finals.
- His 2015 match record is 35 wins and 2 losses. His first loss of the year came against Ivo Karlovic at the Qatar Open in January and his second against Federer.
- Has attained that one of his main goals now is to win the French Open for the first time.
The stats do not lie, Djokovic is practically blitzing any competition that comes his way but is the hoodoo of claiming the one slam that still eludes him going to create a pressure that the great Serb could struggle to deal with? Successful doubles player Todd Woodbridge has definitely raised the theory saying, “There’s a fine line between being prepared and overdone, and my sense is he now has placed enormous pressure on himself due to the brilliance of his season so far. Regardless of who you are it wouldn’t be human not think about the streak and when the inevitable loss may come. Perhaps it may have been better to have lost a match over the last month, just to release the pressure valve a little and redirect some attention to the others.”
What makes Djokovic so strong a favourite this year however is the decline of his Roland Garros nemesis Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has defeated Novak six times in Paris including twice in the finals (2012, 2014) and with his nine French Open titles to his name you would have to wonder why people would still bet against Nadal winning a tenth. The naysayers however maybe right in declaring that the "King of Clay" may have to relinquish his crown this year because of his indifferent clay season. Rafa heads to Paris without a clay-court title since 2005 and looks short of confidence as well as ideas on the court. He lost to Djokovic in Monte Carlo semi-finals, to Murray in the Madrid final and was comprehensively beaten by Stan Wawrinka in the Rome quarter-finals. What's even more worrying for Nadal fans is that he also lost twice to Fabio Fognini at the Rio Open and in Barcelona having never previously lost to the Italian. The Spaniard has stated this year that he is struggling in the "pressure" moments and maybe not playing the right shot when necessary but is that really all it is, or is there something a little more underlying that could be hampering the 14-time Grand Slam champion. Many of his peers have hired former pros to help with their game, (Federer - Edberg, Djokovic - Becker, Murray - Mauresmo, Nishikori - Chang, Cilic - Ivanisevic and Wawrinka - Norman) and it seems Nadal may benefit from hiring someone who could change the way he plays because the Spaniard has become a bit too predictable and less effective. His heavy topspin forehand just doesn't have the impact it used to have and Nadal knows it which in return is making the Spaniard less aggressive in fear that he may create unforced errors. I'm not saying that it's imperative for Rafa to hire a new coach because his Uncle Toni has grafted Nadal into one of the best players of all time but if Rafa is to have any longevity at the top of the men's game then I feel that nothing but another Roland Garros title will signal that a change is needed.
Of course there is more to the tournament than just these two; in fact there are another 126 players who are vying for the elusive Coupe des Mousquetaires (The Musketeers' Trophy). Could the Parisian crowd witness there first home-grown champion since Yannick Noah's triumph in 1983? French starlets Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet are just some of the home players to carry the flag for this year's event. Or will previous Grand Slam champions, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka upset the party and go far in Paris? In fact, if anybody is to have a decent run this year it's Britain's Andy Murray. The 2-time Grand Slam winner has had a good year so far, finishing runner-up at the Australian Open, getting married to long-time girlfriend Kim Sears and winning his first ever clay-court titles in Munich and Madrid with an all-out aggressive display against Nadal in the final in Spain. Murray heads into the French Open with a 10-0 record on clay this season and it will definitely take something special to knock the sting out of the Scot's tail. With new coach Jonas Bjorkman taking centre stage in the Murray camp and with the bliss of being a married man, it seems that Andy has found that extra step that could see him challenge for the trophy.
But the draw hasn't been too kind to Andy however and if he is to win his third Grand Slam title he will have to potentially contend with Nick Kyrgios, John Isner and David Ferrer before a possible semi-final meeting with either Nadal or Djokovic. But it's that quarter-final match-up of Djokovic and Nadal that has really got tennis fans talking. With Rafa's seeding dropping to No.6 in the world (No.7 if not for Raonic withdrawal) it was always likely that he was going to face Novak before the final and it would only be fitting that if the Serb is to win the French for the first time that he does have to beat Nadal at some stage. Djokovic's exploits against Nadal however could have repercussions for the rest of the tournament with Murray most likely lurking in the semi-finals and then Swiss maestro Roger Federer in the final, so even though Djokovic heads in as clear favourite for the title, the draw shows that it's a long brick road ahead for the eight-time Grand Slam winner. For Federer however the draw gods have been kind and he avoids any notable players until at least the fourth round where he could be set to face Frenchman Gael Monfils, a player who has troubled the Swiss lately, beating him in the last two meetings on clay and also taking him to five sets in Flushing Meadows last year. It's a good bet that Monfils will take some stopping again for Federer and if he does negotiate his way past the Frenchman it could be compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the quarters and then either Kei Nishikori or Tomas Berdych in the semis. It's a still a tricky section but when you look at how Murray, Nadal and Djokovic have fared in the draw you realise that Federer has a fantastic opportunity to reach the final. But could Monfils spoil the party for Roger? An early prediction says he definitely could.
The French Open is considered one of the toughest tournaments to win in tennis with the gruelling long rallies and the feeling that to win at Roland Garros you have to beat the greatest clay-courter of all time in Rafa Nadal. But Rafa's exterior seems to be crumbling and many players will all feel that they have a chance to beat the nine-time champion. It's funny to think that even after winning the title a record number of times that if he was to win his tenth this year that people will somewhat be surprised. If Djokovic wasn't here in France then Nadal would be clear favourite, but unfortunately for the Spaniard the Serb looks hungrier than ever for the one slam that is missing in his trophy cabinet and it will take a momentous effort from any player to stop Djokovic winning his maiden French Open crown.
Men's Champion: Novak Djokovic
Dark Horse: Gael Monfils
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