Novak Djokovic 'almost embarrassed to say' what expectations are ahead of 2024 French Open bow

Published 26/05/2024 at 16:30 GMT

Novak Djokovic comes into the French Open in uncharacteristically mixed form, and the world No. 1 has admitted that he has set "low expectations" for himself at Roland-Garros. The Serbian was shocked by Tomas Machac in Geneva earlier this week, and exited both Monte Carlo and Rome prematurely as a result of defeats to Casper Ruud and Alejandro Tabilo respectively.

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Novak Djokovic says he feels "almost a bit embarrassed" to reveal his expectations for the French Open, as he discussed how he will seek to plot his way through the tournament after an atypical season to date.

The world No. 1 arrives in Paris without a title this year, having been knocked out early in all three of the warm-up clay-court tournaments he has played.

He was beaten by Casper Ruud in the semi-finals of Monte Carlo, before he was stunned by the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the second round of the Rome Open.

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That prompted him to apply for a last-minute wildcard into the Geneva Open, an ATP 250 event, the week before Roland-Garros was due to start, but Djokovic lost to the Czech Tomas Machac in the semi-finals.

Djokovic, who has won three French Open titles in his career, faces Pierre-Hugues Herbert in his opening round in the French capital on Tuesday.

Speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the top seed was asked to embellish on his opening gambit, where he said he had "low expectations and high hopes."

"It's tough to talk about; it's very subjective," Djokovic said.

"I almost feel a bit embarrassed to say what my expectations are. Anything but a title for me is not satisfactory. It always has been like that. It might sound arrogant to a lot of people, but I think I have the career that backs it up.

"In a way, me playing still at this highest level, one of the major reasons is trying to write more history of the sport and win the biggest titles that, you know, Paris is definitely one of them.

"So that's why my hopes and goals are always the same, but I have to lower the expectations.

"When I say that, I mean maybe not thinking too much ahead in advance in terms of the tournament and who I might face in the later rounds, but really taking it day by day, step by step, and really building my game.

"Because that's what I have really been struggling with, not really playing in a consistently good level.

"So I obviously need that in order to have any chance to go to the final match."

Elaborating on his lack of success in 2024, Djokovic added: "Of course it does affect me; the five months that I had so far in the year haven't been great in terms of my tennis.

"That's why I have an approach that is focused on a daily basis more trying to build the form and momentum so that I can have a better chance to reach further in the tournament."