'It’s a new chapter in his career': Mats Wilander highlights one area where Novak Djokovic is likely to struggle at French Open

Former world number one Mats Wilander has highlighted what sort of problem Serbia’s Novak Djokovic will face at the French Open. The second Grand Slam of the year will begin from May 27 where players from all over the world will participate to showcase their talent and secure the ultimate prize.

Former world number one Wilander recently spoke to English media outlet Metro, where he highlighted where Djokovic is likely to struggle in the upcoming mega-event. The 60-year-old was of the opinion that other players have a lot more confidence while facing the 38-year-old, which is likely to extend the length of the matches, resulting in the former world number one suffering physically.

“There’s a possibility that it’s his last French Open,” he said. “Once you get to five-set tournaments, where he’s won so many of them, I think [his] confidence will come soaring back. The only problem is that other players suddenly believe that they can beat Novak Djokovic and that’s something that they haven’t believed before. That makes every match much more complicated. When matches are more complicated, suddenly you have three matches in a row which are four hours or more and that becomes a physical issue. He hasn’t had those problems before because he’s been so much better than everybody. In the past, he’d get a straightforward win where he wouldn’t need much energy at all. Suddenly, guys believe they can beat him and therefore the matches will be tougher. It’s a new chapter in his career. It’s looking forward to seeing how he can handle it.”

Djokovic, who is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles, has an impressive record while playing at the Roland Garros where he lifted the title three times. Last year, the Belgrade-born star was forced to retire before the start of the quarterfinal against Norway’s Casper Ruud because of a fitness issue.