Novak Djokovic reiterates Rafael Nadal is still favourite at Roland Garros despite injury issues on return to tennis

Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic has once again backed the former world number one Spain’s Rafael Nadal to clinch the French Open title.

The 36-year-old is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career.

Djokovic’s journey in the Australian Open 2024 came to an on Friday as he suffered a defeat to Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the mega-event with a score of 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3.

Talking after the match, the world number one asked who he thought would be the favourite to lift the title in Paris in a few months and he named Nadal as an obvious candidate.

"That's really far away,” he said. “Let's see how, you know, how the players play in the next several months, particularly on the clay, in the clay season. It's completely different surface, conditions. Some players are probably more favorites than others on clay just because it's kind of a surface that suits certain type of tennis players.

"But of course, you know, if Nadal is playing, he's always a favorite there, No. 1, no doubt. Regardless of the fact that he hasn't played much, but he is who he is in Roland Garros. Of course [Carlos] Alcaraz, Sinner. Anybody that is on the top, you know. I think rankings-wise you can take the first five, ten players in the world, and everyone is a favorite to win. It still takes several months, so let's see how everything evolves.”

Nadal, who is still recovering from an injury he suffered during the Brisbane International which ruled him out of the Australian Open, is the most successful player in the history of the French Open where he has lifted the title as many as 14 titles.