Novak Djokovic’s dominance is unquestionable, but winning the 2016 French Open will be his greatest career challenge. On paper, this might be his clearest path through an ATP tour that does not currently feature a rising No. 2 rival or invincible clay king.
Except the French Open is anything but straightforward. Sure, if Djokovic does sweep through for the Musketeers Cup, it will seem like the obvious result. But guarantees are pie in the sky, and promises never take root in clay. While the Serb has conquered every other notable title, there will be uncertainty until someone is hoisting up the trophy for a photo shoot at the Eiffel Tower.
All of this weighs in with Djokovic’s quick start at Madrid. After playing only one match at Monte Carlo and resting from clay-court competition until this week, he has determined to tune up and peak with Spanish and Roman matches, trusting that the work will be ideal for seven matches in Paris.
There’s simply no alternative to the arduous task. Djokovic is the titan of tennis, holding the world on his durable shoulders, but like mighty Atlas he will feel the weight of public and personal expectations to complete his last great quest.
He can play the greatest tennis of his life, and he might have to in order to win the French Open, but pressure is inescapable. He must rise above the past and future with his spectacular play, one point at a time like removing bricks from a wall that has blocked him off for too many years.
Misfortune or Pressure?
OK, Nadal is the all-time king of clay, stamped forever with nine French Open titles from 2005-14. Yet there’s still the lingering sense that Djokovic has had five very strong spring opportunities evaporate like dew drops on hot, ground-up brick.
Was it merely French misfortune to run into a motivated Federer (2011) or rejuvenated Nadal (2012)? Did Fate cause his missed overheard smash (2013), deal him illness (2014) and send an entourage for Stan Wawrinka's unexpected assault (2015)?
How much was due to pressure making mischief with his cruel bag of tricks?
The truth is that the past does matter for 2016. There’s the distasteful pain of losing through five peak years at Roland Garros. Fewer chances lie ahead, and a year or two more could see his sun fade beneath the Pyrenees.
While Djokovic’s focus will frame his big-picture goal, the details to his potential masterpiece will require the right brush strokes. There will be momentary trials during key points and games. There will be brash opponents who threaten to smash his plans. There will be familiar and unpredictable obstacles.
Pressure will also remind the Serb to keep his edge. He’s not going to give less than his best in training and performing. No matter what happens, nobody will ever accuse Djokovic of giving less than his very best. He will use his physical talents, conditioning, mental toughness and impervious will.
It will either be great enough or not. There’s no room for mediocrity at Roland Garros.
Time to Play like Djokovic
Madrid and Rome will be Masters 1000 exhibitions for Djokovic. Sure, he would love to cruise through all challengers, stamp his usual dominance on pesky hopefuls and rivals alike. He’s created his own tennis monopoly of big titles, and few players are able to hurt him with enough power and consistency over an entire match.
If he does lose in Madrid or Rome, so be it. He will want to get that loss out of his system before marching into Roland Garros.
The important thing for Djokovic over the next month is for him to play like Djokovic. It sounds simple, although nobody else has ever been more complete as a defensive assailant and offensive tactician. He absorbs the best shots his opponents can wield, tantalizes them to try for a little too much and bleeds them away like death through paper cuts.
Last year’s French Open final saw Djokovic employ his greatness through six matches and one set, along the way dismantling Nadal, outlasting Andy Murray and going up one set in the final against the Wawrinka, the tennis god of thunder (with apologies to Thor).
From there, Wawrinka won several big points and pounded his way to the championship. It took a career-best performance, and Djokovic chose to stay the course and play the percentages rather than change his tactics to play with more offensive aggression.
It might be something for tennis followers to second guess, but a year later, Djokovic played the right way. He’s become one of the truly great players in history by masterminding his eclectic skills with a greater dose of patience.
Even through that loss, Djokovic proved his championship belief by sticking to his guns. Through it all, he did not panic, and this bodes when someone throws the fires of heaven at his feet.
Djokovic sticking to Djokovic. That's his greatest chance to finally lift up his Holy Grail to cheering Parisians.
The Djokovic way is his answer to coping with pesky Pressure. He concocts his game plan, sticks to it, executes and forces the opponent to play out of his mind. The vast majority of times, he’s going to outgrind and outplay whoever is on the other side of the net, be it Nadal, another veteran rival or hard-charging youngster.
Pressure? Yeah, he will be lurking in the tunnels at Roland Garros by early June, but this time around Djokovic might not even make eye contact with anything except the next ball bounce.
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