Rafael Nadal fired Novak Djokovic warning as Serb tipped to be 'a beast' at French Open

Novak Djokovic has been tipped to become a "scary" opponent in time for his French Open title defence, threatening Rafael Nadal's chances of picking up a record 14th title in Paris. The world No 1 started the season slowly after being unable to compete over his unvaccinated status but recently made his first final of the year in Serbia and has shown "glimpses" of returning to his top form.

Djokovic suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since July 2021 in his first two tournaments of the season, crashing out in the Dubai quarter-finals in February before losing his opening match in Monte Carlo 47 days later. But the Serb recovered to reach the final in Belgrade, where Andrey Rublev defeated him 6-2 6-7(4) 6-0.

After his showing at the Serbia Open, world No 153 Christopher Eubanks said the world No 1's progress at the tournament showed he could get back to his top level just in time for his upcoming French Open title defence. "It seems to me that he is slowly getting in shape, and the best indicator is the final against Rublev," the American claimed on Tennis Channel's Inside-In podcast.

"It seems to me that he played better and better from match to match and that this is a positive signal in front of Roland Garros. If he continues like this, he will really be a beast in Paris. Then everyone will be afraid of him, it will be the real Novak." The 25-year-old also explained how the 20-time Grand Slam champion's matches earlier in the week gave an indication that he would return to being a "scary" opponent in the coming weeks.

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He added: "We're seeing a glimpse. I think in the first match, he just had to kind of find a way, just give himself