Djokovic, on the eve of his big day at Roland Garros

Winning his twenty-third Grand Slam and becoming the player who has won the most major tournaments in the history of tennis is undoubtedly enough incentive for him to this Sunday (15:00, Dmax) Let’s look at the best version of Novak Djokovic, the one he showed in the first set of the match against Carlos Alcaraz.

But it is also true that, despite the Serbian’s great experience in important events, it may happen that an injury or the stress of a lost opportunity that is so close to him will hinder his game or slow down his physique and make him remember the final that was lost to Wawrinka here in 2015 against the odds.

RIVAL

Full of success against Ruud

If everything goes normally, Djokovic is superior to Ruud. He has beaten him in four meetings, but the Norwegian, a serious and hard-working player like most, is improving aspects of his game. After a small setback, he won in Estoril and was a semi-finalist in Rome.

Ruud is a very confident and practical tennis player, he makes very few unforced errors, and all the players know that he is a very difficult opponent. In excellent physical condition, his tennis has been improving lately. First was the serve, then the forehand and now the general rhythm of his game.

His biggest problem against the Serb may be that his backhand drops a bit, and Novak makes great use of his opponent’s weaknesses.

physical key

It is worn on both sides

The beginning of the match will show us whether Casper’s pace is high enough to avoid Novak’s initiative and thereby wear him down enough to sharpen the game, bring the player from Belgrade to his physical limit and then be able to overcome him. If not, the Norwegian will have problems with Djokovic’s gluttony if he knows he is superior.

As for the attrition of both players during the tournament on their way to the final, Ruud went from minor to major, losing two sets to Zepieri and Zhang in the opening rounds, to show a great level against the dangerous Rune, against whom he dropped another set, but controlling the match.

Already in the semifinals against Zverev, he played a perfect match, where his combination of serve and forehand worked perfectly. It will be difficult for Djokovic’s remnants to allow him to hit a forehand as comfortably as he did against the German, but there is no doubt that the level shown in the last game shows that he is at his best and that he is predisposed to this third Grand Slam final which he is contesting becomes his first victory.

Djokovic, for his part, had tough matches against Davidovich and Khachanov, losing a set against them. Cramps at the beginning of the third, after another lost set, saved Alcaraz from a possible defeat, that is, from a victory with great physical exhaustion.

In any case, before Alcaraz suffered the cramp, the Serbian needed medical attention for a contracture in his forearm and that will no doubt be a concern if the game goes into extra time.

In short, today will be an important day at Roland Garros, with a likely victory for Djokovic, which would make him the player with the most Grand Slam wins, or a possible victory for Casper Ruud, who would win the first major of his career. sports.