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Roland Garros

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Expert Picks

2023 Roland Garros: Which Top 8 men’s seed are you most concerned about?

Novak Djokovic finds himself in unfamiliar territory heading into the French fortnight.

ByTENNIS.com

Published May 25, 2023

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Our expert picks are in. Click around on TENNIS.com for our editors' and writers' thoughts on:

Despite playing a full schedule, Novak Djokovic has yet to reach a semifinal on clay this season.

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Peter Bodo

Casper Ruud: The stakes for the No. 4 seed are high, and that brings on a lot of pressure. Runner-up at Roland Garros (and also the US Open) in 2022, the 24-year old Norwegian did not make a quarterfinal this year until he won Estoril in April. He’s been puzzlingly inconsistent, and he heat is on.

Joel Drucker

Jannik Sinner: So far, he’s had just a mildly productive clay-court season: a single semifinal, back in April at Monte Carlo. Given that Roland Garros usually demands more homework-match play than any other Slam, not sure if Sinner’s got enough sharpness and confidence for a deep run.

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Matt Fitzgerald

Casper Ruud: The uncharted territory of defending his first of two major final showings naturally sounds alarm bells.

David Kane

Stefanos Tsitsipas: The former finalist has been fine on clay, but after taking some unexpected losses in all three Masters 1000 outings, might the pressure to deliver prove too much in the same half as Old Guard Djokovic and New Guard Alcaraz?

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Jon Levey

Jannik Sinner: Sinner has had a pretty quiet clay-court season, especially in comparison to the noise being made by peers Alcaraz and Rune. His draw opens favorably, though, and this feels like a good opportunity to put Sinner back in the Grand Slam contention conversation.

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Stephanie Livaudais

Novak Djokovic: A record Grand Slam No. 23 is in view, but Djokovic’s performances during the clay season didn’t inspire confidence as he failed to even reach a semifinal during the build-up to Roland Garros. His physical condition—especially his elbow, which kept him out Madrid—is another big question mark.

Ed McGrogan

Novak Djokovic: I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, but it was a less-than-superb clay-court stretch for the Serb. All four tournaments he’s played since the Australian Open have been a struggle. Can he find his fine form in time?

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Steve Tignor

Casper Ruud: Last year’s finalist has had a mediocre season so far, even on clay, and he’s coming off a blown set-and-break lead against his arch-enemy Holger Rune in Rome.

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