Paris: Twelve months after his latest bid to complete a career Grand Slam was thwarted, Novak Djokovic targets an elusive French Open title with time and history threatening to conspire against him.
The world number one was left in tears in 2015 when Stan Wawrinka unleashed a battery of single-handed backhand winners to all corners of Court Philippe Chatrier on his way to a shock Paris title.
Djokovic turns 29 on Sunday and will be playing Roland Garros for a 12th time where he remains the overwhelming favourite to secure a trophy which would also place him halfway to the first calendar Grand Slam since 1969.
His record in 2016 reads 37 wins and just three defeats although two of those came on clay. Djokovic starts in Paris against Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun, the world number 100.
World No.2 Andy Murray has steadily improved in Paris with three semifinal runs in his last four appearances, losing a five-set epic to Djokovic in 2015. He faces 37-year-old Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek in the first round with a potential semifinal against Wawrinka.
