Novak Djokovic Cannot Challenge Rafael Nadal At The French Open: Mark Petchey

Novak Djokovic will not win the French Open owing to the form Rafael Nadal is in at the moment, according to former tennis professional Mark Petchey.

The former British tennis player believes the French Open will come too soon for the Serbian to challenge the world number two, who has already won two titles on clay this season — the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open.

Nadal is widely considered the greatest ever clay court player having won 56 of his 77 titles on his favorite surface which include 10 French Open titles. But Djokovic was one of the few players if not the only one in the current generation, who came close to standing toe-to-toe with the Spaniard.

The Serbian has beaten his long-time rival seven times on clay in their 21 encounters, which is the most success any player has had on the red dirt against the Spaniard. Djokovic was touted to be a challenger again in the absence of Roger Federer — who has opted to skip the entire clay court season for the second consecutive season — in 2018, but he has struggled since returning from an elbow injury at the Indian Wells Masters.

The world number 12 has lost in the second round in four of his last five events after returning from the injury recurrence he suffered in January. The furthest he got was the round of 16 at the Monte Carlo Masters and Petchey feels, with his current form, he will not challenge Nadal for the win at the French Open later this month.

"Last year we would have said the Australian Open had come a little too quickly for Roger [on his return from a six-month injury layoff] and many of us were left eating our words at the end of the tournament," Petchey said talking about Djokovic’s chances in Roland Garros, as quoted on the Express.

"I am always loathed to do it [rule Djokovic out] but as the tournament goes with Rafa's dominance on this particular surface you would think it is going to be too soon for him [to make a charge to win it],” he added. "But I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the quarters or the semi-finals because that is the quality of the man."

Nadal, meanwhile, suffered his first defeat on clay in 357 days when he succumbed in straight sets to Dominic Thiem at the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday which also brought to an end his run of 50 consecutive set wins — an new open era record.

The Spaniard’s loss in the quarter-finals also saw him give up his spot as the world number one, which will now be occupied by long-time rival Federer when the rankings are revised on Monday. Nadal will return to action at the Italian Open, which begins on Monday before concluding his clay court campaign at the French Open in June.