Djokovic Is Firm Third Favorite For RG Title

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, May 25, 2025
Photo credit: Lacoste

Slashing an ace on championship point, Novak Djokovic joined the Century Club in stirring style today.

Two days after celebrating his 38th birthday, Djokovic captured his 100th career championship with a stirring 5-7, 7-6(2), 7-6(2) over Hubert Hurkacz in the Geneva Open final. Djokovic joins fellow icons Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) as the third man in Open Era history to collect 100 career Tour-level titles.

Look for Djokovic to keep the party pumping in Paris, says Hall of Famer John McEnroe.

Continuing his quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam crown, Djokovic faces a demanding draw at Roland Garros.

If seeds hold true to form, Djokovic would need to beat 2024 finalist and third seed Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals and No. 2-seeded reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz to win his third Roland Garros title in the last five years. 

Former world No. 1 in singles and doubles McEnroe says Djokovic is the third firm favorite to win this 2025 French Open final behind only the top-seeded Sinner and four-time major champion Alcaraz.

In a TNT Zoom call with the media on Friday to promote the network’s Roland Garros coverage, McEnroe cited four factors for Djokovic as third favorite to win Roland Garros:

*The Serbian superstar owns a 96-16 Roland Garros record, including a streak of 15 straight years where he’s reached quarterfinals or better and he has the best draw of any of the top seeds, says McEnroe.

*If Djokovic advances to the quarterfinals he could face Zverev. McEnroe says he favors the reigning Olympic gold-medal champion over the former gold-medal champion if that match comes off.

*Though Alcaraz is 15-1 in clay this season, Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in their last clay-court clash in the gold-medal match on Roland Garros’ red clay, the Serbian beat the Spaniard in their last major meeting at the Australian Open and he’s one of only two men to defeat the reigning champion on red clay in the last year.

*This is Djokovic’s 21st consecutive French Open appearance and McEnroe says you cannot discount the Grand Slam king’s ability to conjure one more magical run in Paris.

“You don’t count him out until the day [he] retires,” McEnroe said of Djokovic. “He’s got the best draw of anyone to get to there [quarterfinals].

“And the way Zverev is playing—Zverev is not playing with the same confidence until he reached the finals of Australia this year. That [loss to Sinner in the AO final] really hurt him mentally—at least from what I’ve seen. And he doesn’t seem to be playing with the same confidence.

“So I can see the possibility of [Novak] getting there. And whether or not Zverev was there, I don’t think Novak would go in being much of an underdog.

TNT Sports, the exclusive home of live Roland-Garros coverage in the U.S., said it plans to “provide the most comprehensive coverage in the history of the Parisian Grand Slam.”

McEnroe, Jim Courier and Caroline Wozniacki will be among the network’s top analysts with Andre Agassi and Venus Williams also set to contribute to coverage.

It all starts Sunday, May 25, at 5 a.m. ET on TNT, truTV and Max. TNT Sports will deliver nearly 300 hours of programming across TNT and truTV — all originating live from Paris — along with unprecedented streaming coverage on Max and extensive original content available via Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.

Long-time New York Knickerbockers season ticket holder McEnroe, who was courtside at Madison Square Garden on Friday night to see his beloved Knicks fall into an 0-2 hole against the Indiana Pacers, used a basketball analogy to amplify Djokovic’s chances in Paris. 

“And who knows with the other guys? What happens if one of them [Sinner or Alcaraz] gets hurt?” McEnroe said.  “And I hate to see any athlete get hurt, but [Celtics star] Jayson Tatum went down you never want to see that, but that certainly made it easier for the Knicks to pull out game six.

“So Novak, to me, would still be like the third favorite [to win Roland Garros].”

The mercurial McEnroe who formed one half of the fame Fire & Ice rivalry vs. Iceman and fellow Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg, suggests the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry will continue to command the sport so long as both young superstars remain healthy.

“They will continue to dominate if they are able to stay healthy and I hope they do, obviously we all do,” McEnroe said. “I thought Ben Shelton would be able to step up to [fill] a void… He seems to have leveled off, not enough steps forward.

“it would be nice for us here obviously if we were able to get an American male [to win a Grand Slam title], which has not happened in 20 years. I would think [Rome semifinalist] Tommy Paul would probably have the best shot [of American men] on this surface.”