ROME – World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has sent a warning to his rivals, saying that he believes he will be in top form for the French Open and hopes to prove that at the ongoing Italian Open.

He said in Rome on May 8 that his focus is on Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Paris Olympic Games and he had strategic reasons for skipping the recent Madrid event.

“It was not part of the schedule. The plan was to come here. That’s basically it,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who is still seeking his first trophy of the season.

Djokovic, who turns 37 on May 22, just before the French Open gets under way on May 26, said he hoped to perform better than he did in his last tournament, the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost to Casper Ruud in the semi-finals.

“I’m on a good route to peak at Roland Garros in Paris,” he said. “Hopefully, here in Rome I can play better than I did in Monte Carlo.

“The wish is always to go far, but let’s see.”

As the Italian Open top seed, the Serb – who has won here six times – has a bye in the first round.

He will play French lucky loser Corentin Moutet or Roman Safiullin on May 10.

Earlier this week, world No. 5 Alexander Zverev and women’s world No. 1 Iga Swiatek spoke about the expansion of Masters events to nearly two weeks, and Djokovic also shared his thoughts about it.

He believes the new format is beneficial, while Zverev and Swiatek felt that there is no proper break in between since tournaments are now longer and there is usually a quick turnaround to the next event.

“It’s a different concept now, the first time that Rome and Madrid are almost two-week events, like Indian Wells, Miami,” he said.

“It gives you more time to recover between matches if you keep going in the tournament, which is useful for me.”

As he continues to overhaul his team, he has rehired former physio Miljan Amanovic for “certain weeks” this season.

Amanovic worked for Djokovic from 2007 to 2017 and again from 2018 to 2022.

The Serb has sacked several staff in recent months, including coach Goran Ivanisevic and the publicity team.

He said: “I’m a proponent of having a quality team and entourage around you – having people who are experts in their field, who have experience, who have knowledge, who also understand psychology as well.

“They know how to emotionally approach you when you need help or when you need space.”

As for how the emotional aspect is crucial, he explained: “You spend a lot of time on the tour together.

“You see them much more than you see your family... when you’re travelling literally every single week of the year.”

At the Italian Open on May 9, Djokovic’s great rival Rafael Nadal survived a scare before he defeated Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.

The 37-year-old, who is a 10-time Rome champion, will next face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.

“That was not my best match, I was practising better than I played, but I found a way to win. That’s so important at the beginning of a tournament,” said Nadal.

“My game is more unpredictable than before, I haven’t played much tennis for the last two years.

“I think I can do much better than today and I hope to in the next round.”

The Spaniard, who expects to retire after this season, spent most of 2023 nursing a hip issue that required surgery, before a muscle tear in Brisbane stalled his comeback in January.

He returned during the clay swing for tournaments in Barcelona and Madrid, and is fit enough to play his third event in a row in Rome – a good sign ahead of the French Open, where he is the record 14-time winner.

Meanwhile, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka breezed past 19th seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2 into the round of 32. AFP, REUTERS