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Mats Wilander believes Novak Djokovic is facing a significant ‘problem’ ahead of the French Open, which gets underway in Paris on Sunday.
Djokovic heads into the second Grand Slam of 2025 after some alarming results on clay, losing his opening matches in Madrid and Monte-Carlo.
He has just reached the semi-finals of Geneva Open – but smashed his racket in frustration during his 6-4 6-4 victory over Matteo Arnaldi on Thursday after falling a break down in the second set of the match.
The Serbian tennis icon, a 24-time major champion, hasn’t been at his best at all this year and the 38-year-old decided to make a coaching change before Roland-Garros with Andy Murray stepping down from his role.
Djokovic, who has won the French Open three times, most recently in 2023, has acknowledged he’s not a ‘main favourite’ to land the trophy this year.
Wilander has now told Metro that Djokovic could be in trouble at Roland-Garros because opposition players now firmly believe that they can actually beat him and the illusion of invincibility he once had is over.
‘There’s a possibility that it’s his last French Open,’ former world No.1 Wilander said amid rumours that Djokovic is nearing retirement.
‘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.’
‘Jack Draper’s French Open chances depend on the weather’
Meanwhile, Wilander believes the weather in Paris will play a big role in how far British No.1 Jack Draper will progress at this year’s French Open.
Draper has enjoyed a superb year on the ATP Tour to date – clinching the Indian Wells title – and he’s made significant improvements on clay with a runner-up finish in Madrid and a run to the Italian Open quarter-finals.
Currently No.5 in the world rankings, Draper has never been past the first round at the French Open but looks set for a deeper run this time around.
‘It depends on the weather for me,’ seven-time major champion Wilander responded when quizzed if Draper could go all the way at Roland-Garros.
‘When it’s hot and dry, he has already proven that’s when he plays his best tennis. At Indian Wells, it was hot and dry with high bouncing. In Madrid, it was hot and it was hot and dry with high bouncing.
‘Then you come to Rome and it’s not – it’s slower and lower bouncing – which is the same conditions Paris will have if we have cold temperatures and there’s moisture in the air.
‘Then suddenly, we don’t know how Draper is going to fare. Is he aggressive enough to win those matches? Can he play defence well enough to win those matches?
‘The only question mark is how will he do if the weather is not the same as where he’s done well. Being a lefty makes a huge difference. Having a big serve makes a huge difference.
‘He’s one of those guys you don’t want to play because he’s left-handed and that’s a great place to be for him because if he serves well, the other guy, the right-hander will have a problem returning.’
Asked to rate Draper’s season so far on a scale of 1 to 10, Wilander added: ‘I’d say 8/10. He’s 10/10 in terms of improvement and attitude.
‘Everything he’s doing on and off the court, and the way he behaves on the court, is that of a top player. He doesn’t have any downfalls when it comes to the mentality, the approach to the match or every single point.
‘It’s always full-on no matter what the score is and that’s what the best players in the world do. It’s 8/10 because he’s only won one tournament.
‘If you’re going to get 10/10 you need to have won several tournaments [by this time of year]. He hasn’t won on every surface just yet.’
‘Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are French Open favourites’
Wilander feels Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the two firm favourites to clinch the French Open title this year.
Alcaraz, the defending Roland-Garros champion, recently recorded a 7-6 6-1 victory over Sinner in the Italian Open final – with the event in Rome a traditional warm-up event for the French Open.
Sinner has only recently returned from suspension but heads into the French Open as the top seed.
Quizzed if Alcaraz was the outright favourite for the Roland-Garros title after his triumph in Rome, Wilander said: ‘It makes him the favourite to win the French Open but it’s still together with Jannik Sinner.
‘The first set (of the Italian Open final) could’ve gone in either direction. Sinner should’ve won the first set but Alcaraz hit two aces at the right time in the tie-breaker, he gets the mini-break and that’s it, done.
‘Carlos breaks Sinner early into the second set. That would be the only question mark for Sinner – not the first set – how he started the second set.
‘Is that a sign of him not having played for three months or is that a sign that Alcaraz’s level is slightly above Sinner on clay? It’s hard to say.
‘It was close enough that I can’t say that Alcaraz is the outright favourite (for Roland-Garros), I think both of them are.’
You can watch every moment of the 2025 French Open live on TNT Sports and on discovery+.
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