Novak Djokovic will "absolutely be ready" for the French Open, says John McEnroe's brother Patrick
Patrick McEnroe is of the opinion that Novak Djokovic will be fully prepared to contest the French Open title despite his recent losses.
Djokovic began his clay season with a win over Ivan Gakhov in his opening match at the Monte-Carlo Masters. However, the World No. 1 was unable to progress further in the tournament as he was ousted by Lorenzo Musetti in the Round of 16.
Djokovic next competed at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka, bidding to defend points from his run to the finals at the Serbian Open in 2022. But he had a shaky start with a tough win over Luca Van Assche, before falling to compatriot Dusan Lajovic in straight sets.
John McEnroe's brother Patrick spoke about the World No. 1's participation in the Srpska Open on his podcast 'Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe.' McEnroe stated that Djokovic's participation in Banja Luka was motivated by his desire to get himself ready for the upcoming French Open.
"So Djoker will try to get those matches in. He's obviously concerned about one thing and one thing only, that's the French and making sure he's ready for that," he said.
Patrick McEnroe added that he expected the two-time French Open champion to be "absolutely ready" for the tournament.
"My suspicion is he'll absolutely be ready for it," he added.
Novak Djokovic pulls out of Madrid Open 2023
In a surprising turn of events, Novak Djokovic followed in Rafael Nadal's footsteps as he announced his decision to withdraw from the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Open.
The Madrid Open Twitter handle shared the news of the World No. 1 choosing to skip the event, and wished him a speedy recovery from his elbow injury.
"@DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN. Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole,” the tournament announced.
@DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN 
🇷🇸 @DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN
Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole 😘 https://t.co/M44rUvnrH1
Following his loss to Dusan Lajovic at the Srpska Open, Djokovic admitted that he was uncertain about his participation in the Madrid Open as he wanted to fully recover from his elbow injury before retaking the court. The injury that the World No. 1 sustained at the Monte-Carlo Masters caused him issues throughout the Srpska Open, and he was even spotted wearing a sleeve during his matches.
In 2022 Novak Djokovic reached the final of the Madrid Open, where he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in their first-ever meeting on the ATP tour.