Reigning Roland-Garros champion Novak Djokovic has a dual-quest on clay in 2024 – to win a stand-alone 25th Grand Slam singles title in the sport and finally land that elusive Olympic gold medal. Paul Hassall was at the Monte-Carlo Country Club to watch the Serb’s first match of the season on the surface at the Monte-Carlo Masters in what could yet be his most memorable ever on La Terre Battue.
READ MORE :Andy Murray Joins Elite Club Ft. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal After Defeating Matteo Berrettini at Miami Open 2024
Heading into the Monte-Carlo Masters, two-time champion Novak Djokovic (2013, 2015) had spoken of low expectations in terms of landing what would be a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title.
It was his first competitive tour match since a shock third round loss to lucky loser Luca Nardi in Indian Wells, while his semi-final exit to eventual winner Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open back in January had cracked the air of invincibility from a stellar 2023.
It only added to the intrigue as to how the top seed would shape up on his return to action, with the crowd on Court Rainier III waiting patiently to see the world No. 1 as early rain delayed the day’s play by two hours.
Djokovic was third up on the MCCC’s main court and he proved to be the highlight of Day 4 for many of the spectators as he comfortably ousted Roman Safiullin in straight sets (6-1 6-2) in his first outing on clay since he lifted his third Roland-Garros crown last June.
There were a few shakes of the head here and there as Nole, ever the perfectionist, still managed to lament some wasted break opportunities despite unlocking the Russian’s serve on no fewer than five occasions
There’s no doubt the top seed has several additional gears to move through but overall he admitted he was “very pleased” with what was a very promising and perhaps ominous start to the clay swing for the Serb.
A fourth Roland-Garros title and a standalone 25th singles major in the sport is clearly on his radar with his preparations in recent years always centred upon peaking for the second Grand Slam of the year in Paris rather than being overly concerned with results in the first few tournaments of the European leg on the red dirt.
Indeed, Djokovic has not gone beyond the quarter-finals here since he lifted the trophy for the second time in 2015, and he has not made it beyond round three since 2019.
It has rarely stopped him from hitting a high level by Rome and being a major contender at Roland-Garros, where he has won two of the last three editions.
However, this year there is a unique difference.
Both Djokovic and his former coach Goran Ivanisevic have made it pretty clear that his priority – even above another major – is that elusive Olympic gold medal, which remains the surprising omission from his glittering CV.
This will be the Serb’s fifth Olympics and he is keenly aware that he has yet to produce his best tennis there.
