Novak Djokovic still favorite for French Open ahead of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, feels John Millman

Despite Novak Djokovic's underwhelming start to the clay season, John Millman believes the Serb is the favorite to win the French Open, with Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal following closely behind.

Djokovic commenced his clay swing at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He secured an opening-round win against Ivan Gakhov before losing to Lorenzo Musetti in three sets. The World No. 1 then flew to Banja Luka for his first-ever tournament on Bosnian soil.

Following a first-round bye, Djokovic scored a comeback win over French teenager Luca Van Assche. However, he was ousted in straight sets by compatriot Dusan Lajovic in the quarterfinals.

Taking to Twitter, Millmann pointed out that the 22-time Grand Slam champion traditionally takes a bit of time to adjust to clay and that he plays his best tennis at the Rome Masters.

"I still don’t think we see Novak’s best tennis on the dirt until around Rome time. As he’s said, he takes time to get used to this surface and feel like in the past we tend to see him hit his strides when he rolls into the Italian capital," he wrote.

In response to a user's question about his favorites for the French Open, Millman picked Djokovic, followed by Alcaraz and Nadal. He added that Jannik Sinner would be his third pick if Nadal's injury woes continue.

"For me I'd have -Novak -Alcaraz -Nadal (if Nadal isn’t playing by Rome though I’d have Sinner in there)," the Australian wrote.

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Novak Djokovic hopes to improve before French Open, admits below-par performance in Banja Luka

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic has stressed the need to improve ahead of the French Open while acknowledging his below-par performance at the Srpska Open.

At a press conference in Banja Luka, Djokovic spoke about the reasons for the loss against Dusan Lajovic.

"The loss is due to a combination of many things," the 35-year-old said. "He [Lajovic] played very well, very solid, and I was a couple of levels below what was expected. I can’t win against opponents who are so solid on this surface with this game. I didn’t even feel good physically on the court, I felt slow, with sluggish legs, I missed a lot of balls, and was totally out of shot."

The Serb also expressed hope of turning things around before the French Open.

"It's no secret that you prepare and train for Roland Garros. The same thing happened last year, I had a very slow start to the tour and I started to play better towards the end of the tour," he added.

Novak Djokovic will next be in action at the 2023 Madrid Open, which is set to commence on April 26.