Alex Corretja not expecting big things from Novak Djokovic at French Open

The 24-time Grand Slam winner will head to the French Open with only three sets under his belt on the red dirt as he played only one tournament in the lead-up to Paris and that was the Italian Open where he lost 6-2, 2-6, 4-6 against qualifier Dino Prizmic.

Djokovic had an option to play at the Geneva Open this week to get more match practice before the French Open starts on 24 May, but when asked after his Rome exit about playing in Switzerland, he replied: "No. This year, no. I'll just go to Paris straight."

Age is no longer on his side while he has also struggled with a shoulder problem in recent months.

The 38-year-old added: "It's not an ideal preparation, to be honest. I don't recall last time I had in the last couple of years a preparation where I didn't have any kind of physical issues or health issues coming into the tournament. There's always something. Kind of a new reality that I have to deal with.

"It is frustrating. At the same time it's my decision to still perform in that kind of state and conditions. It is what it is."

Last year, the Serbian lost his opening matches at the Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, but then opted to add the Geneva Open to his schedule and ended up winning the tournament to lift his ATP Tour career singles trophy.

He then went on to reach the semi-final at Roland Garros before losing in straight sets against Jannik Sinner.

Two-time French Open runner-up Corretja says a fully fit Djokovic will always be difficult to beat, but he warns that if he is not in peak condition, then he could struggle.

"I think it is, well, amazing that he's still around and he's still willing to do well," the former world No 2 told TNT Sports.

"I was happy enough to see him going to play in Rome, hopefully to get a few matches. When that didn't happen, I was thinking, 'Oh, maybe he's going to play Geneva again and try to see if he can play a few matches before Roland-Garros,' but it didn't happen.

"So I'm not so sure how he feels physically, if he's ready or not. It's not that easy to go from almost playing nothing to playing best-of-five [sets].

"But I believe he feels like, 'Okay, as the matches will go on and the tournament will go on, I will get the rhythm that I was missing in the last, let's say, weeks, nearly months'.

"So it's a bit tricky. He's got experience, and sometimes when you play Roland-Garros, it's about experience but also the physique needs to help you.

"I don't think there are more than, let's say, five guys maybe in the draw that can beat him if he's okay and if he's ready. If he's not ready, yeah, of course you can lose to anyone because tennis is so hard nowadays."

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