Novak Djokovic is playing like he has wings as he prepares to challenge for a first French Open title starting on Sunday, according to the man who discovered him as a teenager. Niki Pilic, who worked with Djokovic from the age of 14 and who was part of the coaching set-up for Serbia’s Davis Cup triumph last year, marvels at the maturity of his former pupil, whose unbeaten start to the season stretches to 37 matches heading into the year’s second grand slam.
“It’s unbelievable and since winning the Davis Cup he has been flying, like he has wings,” Pilic, runner-up at Roland Garros in 1973, told Reuters by telephone this week before issuing a word of caution. “The French is the hardest tournament to win. One five-set match can make it very tough. But with Novak at the moment I think everything is possible.” Djokovic is the main obstacle standing between Rafa Nadal and a sixth title at Roland Garros, starting on Sunday. The Serb, who will celebrate his 24th birthday on Sunday, won the first grand slam of the season in Australia and has beaten world number one Nadal in their last four meetings, all in Masters Series finals.
Should he win the French Open for the first time on June 5 he would overtake John McEnroe’s record 42-match streak at the start of 1984 as well as seizing the world number one ranking from Nadal.
Djokovic has also beaten Roger Federer three times this year and has clearly broken the Nadal-Federer axis at the top of the men’s game. How much his relentless march has taken out his legs could come to light in the next two weeks, but those looking for any signs of frailty will be disappointed. “I feel good,” he told reporters in the French capital on Friday. “I had my first hit last night. I did have some time off, as much as I could afford at this stage, and I’m feeling good.
“Physically I’m fit. I’m confident that I can go out there and play five sets. This is what I’m getting ready for.” Much has been made of Djokovic’s ability to maintain an extraordinary level of play day after day this year, particularly the way he survived a gruelling test against Andy Murray in Rome before sweeping aside Nadal the following day. While Djokovic has removed wheat from his diet, he was not giving too much away on Friday when asked to explain more about his work with Igor Cetojevic, an expert in Chinese medicine. “I can’t describe what I’m having in detail, because this is something very private and professional,” Djokovic, who faces a tricky draw in Paris with Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet lurking in his path, said.
“What I can say is that I have decided to give it a try because of the allergies and the health, the heat problems that I had in the past. I was trying different kind of things, and I wanted to see if that works, and that worked.” If it continues working right the way up until the final, expect to see a visual symbol of Djokovic dominance. Djokovic’s father Srdjan wore a T-shirt charting his son’s 37th consecutive victory during the Rome Masters final against Nadal last week.
