Djokovic to appear in record 82nd Grand Slam at the French Open with barely any match play
PARIS: Novak Djokovic will set a record the moment he steps on court for his opening match at the French Open against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the night session on Sunday. Two days after his 39th birthday, Djokovic will play a men’s record 82nd Grand Slam tournament — one more than Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez. For all his experience, though — he shares the record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles with Margaret Court — Djokovic comes to Roland Garros with hardly any match preparation. Djokovic lost to Croatian qualifier Dino Prižmić at the Italian Open in his only match on clay this year — after two months out due to a right shoulder injury. “I wanted to play more but my body was not allowing me,” Djokovic said, adding he “was far from ready to compete” in Rome. “But, still, I needed at least that one match just to have the score called by the chair umpire and have experience of the nerves before I eventually come to Roland Garros, which at that point I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play or not. “Thankfully, the response of the body and the preparation has been positive in the last 10 days, so here I am, and we’ll see what happens.” Djokovic will also tie French players Richard Gasquet and Antoine Gentian with a men’s record 22nd appearance at Roland Garros.
