Wilander believes Indian Wells and Miami withdrawal will help Djokovic achieve unique feat: "He can be fresh for the clay-court season"

Mats Wilander doesn't think that missing Indian Wells and Miami is a bad thing for Djokovic as he'll be pretty fresh for the clay-court season.

The next big target for Djokovic is Roland Garros as he hopes to overcome Nadal for the most grand slam titles ever and doing it in 'his house' would make it even more memorable. To do that, he'll have to prepare well for the clay court season and missing the Sunshine double could help him in that.

Speaking to Eurosport, Wilander said:

“He can be fresh for the clay-court season, he can be more fresh for the French Open. He's already No. 1 in the world. He's already broken all the records when it comes to No. 1. So what difference does it make if he wins another Indian Wells or Miami?"

Wilander continued:

“He doesn't have to deal with the problem of confidence. Most players do. Novak Djokovic seems to not need a lot of confidence to just walk back into the circle of champions and start winning again. So I think that on clay it'd be great for him. He's going to have a better preparation season. He needs to win the French Open for sure because I think this might be his last chance at the Calendar Grand Slam."

And concluded:

“I really feel like that's in his wheelhouse. I was surprised that he didn't do it a couple of years ago and I'll be surprised again because watching him play at Australian Open, there is no backing off. He's not getting worse, he's not getting older. In fact, he's just getting better. So to me, the less tennis he plays, the better it is for him to win majors.”