 "French Open: Novak Djokovic backs Rafael Nadal to win record 15th title")
Novak Djokovic said Rafael Nadal was still a favourite to win the French Open, despite the record 14-time champion struggling for fitness.
Djokovic is tuning up for the second Grand Slam of the year at the Geneva Open this week.
He said if Nadal was in the French Open draw, he could not be ruled out, despite his injury problems and struggles against a younger generation.
“This year is more open,” defending French Open champion Djokovic told reporters at the Parc des Eaux-Vives grounds in Geneva.
“Casper Ruud is surely one of the five players who are candidates to win. You have Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas – all the players who won a major tournament on this surface this year.
“But when you talk about Roland-Garros and Nadal is there, he is always the biggest favourite for me.
“After everything he has done on the courts at Roland-Garros, it’s normal, respectfully to put him as the biggest favourite.
“Obviously it’s a little different with his level of play. But it’s Roland-Garros, and it’s Nadal.
“After that, maybe me, if I feel good, if I play well. At Roland-Garros, and all the Grand Slams, I am a bit of a different player.”
World No 1 Djokovic, who turns 37 on Wednesday, took a wild card to play in Geneva in a bid to rescue an alarming drop in form ahead of the title defence in Paris.
The 28-man Swiss clay court tournament serves as a final warm-up.
The record 24-time Grand Slam champion will arrive in Paris without a title this year, for the first time since 2018, unless he wins Geneva.
Search for form
While time has caught up with 37-year-old Nadal, Djokovic said he was hungry to keep performing at the top.
“I’m searching for my highest possible level,” he said.
“It’s not an obligation. It’s truly my desire, my feeling, my passion, my love for tennis. That’s the most important. I’m seeking to stay connected with that feeling.”
Djokovic said he knew Geneva well as he has cousins in the Swiss city, though he has never played at the Geneva Tennis Club before.
“At this moment, there is no better practice for me than match play. So I feel like I need more matches,” he said.
“That’s the way for me to try to find the kind of form that I need for Roland-Garros.”
Djokovic was at the Stade de Geneve on Monday to witness the local football team Young Boys winning a 17th Swiss championship with a 1-0 victory over hosts Servette – a team the Serb has a long-standing fondness for.
Djokovic said one of his cousins was set to marry a Servette player – French midfielder Timothe Cognat, according to Swiss media.
Djokovic’s best friend, and best man at his wedding, was defender Neven Markovic, who played for Servette from 2013 to 2015.
“That’s why I’m supporting the club,” Djokovic said, jovially adding that Markovic could perhaps best be categorised as a “very physical player”.
“I’m not a football expert – but he’s a crazy guy,” he said.
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