Djokovic ends title drought in the run-up to Roland Garros, with victory at Geneva.
Novak Djokovic looked to be lost in the wilderness since winning the year-ending ATP Finals in 2023. The Serbian’s only significant win since then was taking home the elusive Olympic Gold at the Paris Games last year.
Djokovic recently emerged as the winner at last week’s Geneva Open. This result gives him an advantage heading into Roland Garros. The win in Switzerland was also his 100th tour-level title. This means the former World No #1 is only one of three with at least 100 titles to their name. Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109) being the other two.
He defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the final of the clay-court event, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-6 to join the exclusive club.
Seeded sixth at French Open 2025, the three-time Roland Garros champion could clash with Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. Djokovic could cross paths with last year’s runner-up, Alexander Zverev, in the quarter-finals. World No #5, Jack Draper lurks in Sinner’s part of the draw as a possible quarter-final opponent. The Englishman is also a likely rival for Djokovic in the last four.
Let’s take a closer look at Djokovic’s likely opponents leading up to the title round.
Also Read: French Open 2025: Updated schedule, fixtures, results, live streaming details
Round 1 – Mackenzie McDonald
Novak Djokovic faces Mackenzie McDonald for the first time on tour at the 2025 French Open. The Serb had a rocky start to the season that began with a retirement in Melbourne and a loss to Jakub Mensik in the finals of the Miami Open. The poor run of results continued in the clay court season with early exits in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
Mackenzie McDonald has never quite managed to make an impression at Roland Garros or on clay. The 30-year-old American has never made it past the third round in Paris. As such, he is unlikely to survive the face-off against Djokovic.
Round 2 – Corentin Moutet/Clement Tabur
Novak Djokovic is slated to face one of two Frenchmen – either Corentin Moutet or Clement Tabur in the second round.
While Moutet is far from being a seasoned campaigner at the clay-court major, he posted his best result at the venue in 2024. He made the fourth round for his best result in Paris. Though Moutet was outlasted by Jannik Sinner, he took the opening set off No. #1 in the ATP Rankings. Djokovic most recently played Moutet in the 2024 Italian Open, beating the Frenchman in straight sets.
It will be a significant leap for Clement Tabur to face a player the calibre of Djokovic. Tabur, ranked No. 280 and battled his way through qualifying, is making his main draw debut in Roland Garros. Tabur’s lack of experience on the Grand Slam stage will make victory against the Serbian unlikely.
Round 3 – Denis Shapovalov/Yunchaokete Bu
A hint of vulnerability might expose itself should Djokovic take on Shapovalov in the third round. Despite an 8-0 lead over the Canadian, Djokovic is currently not at his best. He laboured hard to beat Hubert Hurkacz in Geneva from a set down and scraped through two consecutive tie-breaks against the Pole.
Shapovalov is showing glimpses of his former self when he won in Dallas and reached the last four in Apaculpo this season. The Canadian’s resume is missing a notable result at big events, the title round at the Paris Masters in 2019 being the only noteworthy one.
Any meeting between Djokovic and Bu will be a tour-level first. Having enjoyed reasonable success on the Challenger Tour, Bu made his Grand Slam main draw debut at the US Open in 2024. The Chinese player recently reached his career-high ranking of No. 64 in April but is unlikely to be a threat to the Serb at this point of his career.
Round 4 – Daniil Medvedev/Ugo Humbert
Djokovic is headed for a round-of-16 showdown with 2021 French Open quarter-finalist Daniil Medvedev. The Russian is dealing with a poor string of results and is without a championship round appearance since the 2024 Indian Wells Masters. His title drought extends to 2023, the year he lifted the Italian Open trophy.
The Serb controls the narrative against Medvedev thanks to a 10-5 career head-to-head. Djokovic also enjoys a 1-0 lead over Humbert, the other possible fourth-round opponent. Frenchman Humbert, though not without talent, has struggled to make an impression in Grand Slams. His best result at his home slam was reaching the second round in 2023 when he lost to Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Quarter-finals – Alexander Zverev/Francisco Cerundolo
The last time Djokovic and Zverev met, it ended with the Serb retiring from his semi-final match against the German. The setting was the 2025 Australian Open, with Zverev having taken the opening set. Djokovic came out on top at the ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati in 2023, their last completed match Their record on clay is tied at 1-1, with the Serb defeating Zverev at Roland Garros in 2019 to equalise.
Djokovic faced clay-court specialist Cerundolo for a maiden clash at least year’s French Open. Their fourth-round meeting in 2024 witnessed the Serbian take part in a gruelling five-setter before crossing the taking it home with a 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 scoreline. Cerundolo’s back-to-back semi-finals in Munich and Madrid underscored the threat the Argentine poses on clay.
Semi-finals – Jannik Sinner/Jack Draper
Overcoming Sinner will be a challenge for the seasoned Djokovic. The Italian World No. #1 has won three of four matches against the Serb to level their head-to-head at 4-4. The top seed will be a major hurdle in Djokovic’s quest for a fourth Roland Garros trophy. One of the times Sinner won against Djokovic was in the 2024 Australian Open semi-finals.
Jack Draper, now ranked No. #5, captured his maiden ATP 1000 title at Indian Wells and finished as runner-up in Madrid this season. The only meeting between Djokovic and Draper at Wimbledon in 2021 concluded in favour of the Serb. The left-handed Draper is yet to advance to the second round at Roland Garros and is scheduled to make his third appearance in Paris.
Finals – Carlos Alcaraz/Casper Ruud/Tommy Paul
Carlos Alcaraz, the French Open defending champion and victor at the 2025 Italian Open, could be squaring off against the 24-time Grand Slam winner. Ruud, with the Madrid 1000 title win under his belt, and Paul, a semi-finalist in Rome, are the other potential challengers for the No. #6 seed, should he make the finals.
Of the trio, Alcaraz will be the most formidable challenger in Djokovic’s path. Djokovic prevailed in their only meeting in Roland Garros in the 2021 semi-finals. The Spaniard has won three titles in the ongoing season, with two of them occurring on clay. In addition to the victory in Rome, the World No. #2 also won the Madrid ATP 1000 – the clay court event preceding the Italian Open.
The former No. #1 has a 5-3 head-to-head against Alcaraz, 5-1 against Ruud and 1-0 against Paul. Ruud outlasted Draper in Madrid to deny Draper his second straight title to take his maiden ATP 1000 win. Paul was quietly impressive in his semi-final run in Rome, stretching home favourite Sinner to three sets in the Italian capital.
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