Updated 16 June 2025 at 16:30 IST
The French Open 2025 did not go to plan for Novak Djokovic, as he was defeated in straight sets by eventual runner-up Jannik Sinner in the semi-final. Djokovic has spent large parts of his tennis career competing in Grand Slam finals so would have rued missing the chance of getting to go up against Carlos Alcaraz. However, there is even worse news for the 23-time Grand Slam champion ahead of Wimbledon 2025 as his potential seeding could make his run to the title very difficult indeed.
As things stand, Djokovic could likely be meeting some of the top players in the world as early as the quarterfinals. But how is that the case?
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The reason is where it is that Djokovic stands in the ATP rankings. He is currently in the fifth position and as he is not playing a single tournament in the build-up to Wimbledon, he is likely to stay put there.
But that means he will be in for a tough draw since he could face one of Sinner, Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz or even Alexander Zverev in the last 8.
Going up against Fritz and Zverev may not prove to be much of an issue, but facing Sinner or Alcaraz would be - the two youngsters are easily the best out of the current lot of players and have both form and momentum on their side.
As mentioned earlier, Djokovic lost in straight sets to Sinner in the French Open semis - but he was hardly uprooting any trees even before the clay-court Slam.
He suffered three straight first-round exits in tournaments held in the build-up to the event and even though he won a title just before the Slam, it was not ideal preparation.
And Djokovic choosing not to play any games before Wimbledon means he will be relying largely on muscle memory to have a good run at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Published 16 June 2025 at 16:30 IST