‘Revenge’ makes Novak Djokovic favourite for French Open ahead of Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz: Mats Wilander

Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Mats Wilander believes Novak Djokovic will be ready to unleash his frustrations from a stop-start year so far, making him the favourite to win the French Open. The defending champion will be competing in his first major of 2022, after he was forced to miss the Australian Open when he was deported from the country because of Covid vaccination status. Ad/> His view on jabs also meant he missed big tournaments in the US, such as Indian Wells, and his build up to Roland-Garros has been mixed — although he now looks to have found his groove.

Roland-GarrosAlcaraz: I’m not afraid to say I’m ready to win a Grand SlamA DAY AGO Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the Italian Open at the weekend, which followed back-to-back defeats in finals to Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev in Madrid and Belgrade, respectively, on the back of an early exit to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Monte Carlo. But the world No. 1 was in imperious form to beat Tsitsipas, crushing the Greek player 6-0 in the opening set of Sunday’s victory, and though most of the hype is focusing on Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal’s fitness status, Eurosport expert Wilander thinks Djokovic will be the man to beat.

“I think Novak has to be the favourite,” he said. «Winning in Rome will be huge for his confidence but Novak also has a feeling of revenge with everything that happened to him over the past few months that will give him strength. “He is defending the French Open after not being able to play at the Australian Open so that’s huge as well.