Novak Djokovic on Friday admitted world No 1 Jannik Sinner was the man to beat at Roland Garros as the imperious Italian stands on the brink of completing his career Grand Slam.
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Djokovic, 39, is chasing a 25th major title, which would put him outright first for the most Grand Slam victories in the history of the sport.
However, Sinner, who is on a 29-match winning streak and has won the last six Masters events, casts a long shadow over the sole remaining Grand Slam tournament he has not yet won.
"It's an incredible feat for him and his team. We've talked a lot about how impressive he is on all surfaces," Djokovic said of Sinner, who with victory at the three clay-court Masters this season became just the second man after the Serb to win all nine 1000-level titles.
"Being one of the two guys that have managed in the history to be the only ones to win the Golden Masters, I know how challenging that is and how difficult it is.
"So I want to congratulate him for that because it's quite an achievement and he's really young, he still has a lot of time ahead of him."
After falling on opposite sides of the draw, third-seeded Djokovic and Sinner, 24, cannot meet until the final on June 7.
In the absence through injury of double-defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic, who has reached at least the semifinals at each of the past five Grand Slams, appears the most likely man to be able to put a stop to Sinner's run.
"He's going for his Golden Slam as well here if I'm not mistaken. He's maybe in the form of his life, and without Carlos being here also increases his chances even more of claiming more Grand Slam titles," Djokovic said.
"So we're all here to try to win against him and prevent him from taking more titles."
'ALWAYS HAVE THAT BELIEF'
Djokovic, who lost the Australian Open final to Alcaraz in January, added that the Spaniard's withdrawal is a "big blow for the tournament" but that it did not change his approach.
"I don't think it does significantly change, to be honest, because I have been through challenging times with my body in the last, you know, six to eight months," he said.
"If I'm able to somehow maintain that level of freshness and progress, then I feel like I have always a very good chance.
"I have proven that in Australia this year where I was close to winning another Slam... I always have that belief in me when I'm on the court."
But the three-time champion enters his 22nd Roland Garros with very little clay-court playing time under his belt this season.
After exiting Indian Wells at the round-of-16 stage to Jack Draper in March, Djokovic has only played one warm-up match on the red dirt – crashing out in his opening match in Rome to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic.
Djokovic admitted his reduced time on court was not of his own choosing.
"I wanted to play more, but my body was not allowing me," he said. "I was going through rehabilitation process for my (shoulder) injury. So after Indian Wells, it was just not possible for me to compete for several months."
He added that he entered the Italian Open just to get some match experience before his latest tilt at a 25th major crown.
"Really wanted to go to Rome to give it a shot and try and, you know, see how I feel," he explained.
"I was far from being ready to compete, but still, I needed at least that one match just to have the score called by a chair umpire and have experience of the nerves before I eventually come to Roland Garros, which at that point I didn't know if I was going to be able to play or not."
Djokovic will begin his Roland Garros campaign against big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.