After stepping away from the game for a short spell, Novak Djokovic is back and looking to make his mark on this year’s Italian Open in Rome.
Djokovic, who will be featuring in his first clay-court event of 2026, has received positive comments from Tracy Austin as he prepares for the tournament.
The 38-year-old has competed in just two events this season, finishing as runner-up at the Australian Open before a round-of-16 exit at Indian Wells.
He lost to Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne and Jack Draper in California, but now has an opportunity to regain momentum on clay following his hard-court appearances.
Fans have reason to be optimistic about his form after he completed a practice session with Tomas Etcheverry ahead of the tournament.
Why Djokovic’s first clay appearance should have fans eager
Djokovic looked sharp in the session, managing the court well and showing good movement for this stage of the season.
What stood out even more, though, was how often he turned to the drop shot. It’s something he used effectively throughout their hit-out, and it seemed to catch his opponent off guard on several occasions.
Etcheverry had trouble dealing with it, and there were a few moments where he could only stand back and applaud the execution.
With Alcaraz sidelined due to a wrist injury and Sinner on the opposite side of the draw until a potential final meeting, there are openings that could play into Djokovic’s hands.
The support was evident during his practice session against Etcheverry and should carry over into his opening match of Rome 2026. The fans will be hoping he can capitalise on a draw that looks favourable on paper.
Sinner’s confidence stands out ahead of the clay season
Djokovic has his eyes on the French Open, where he’ll be chasing a 25th Grand Slam title. But he’s also been put on notice about how serious a threat Sinner could be during the clay-court swing.
That remark came ahead of their semi-final meeting at the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters, which happened to be the only time they’ve faced each other on that surface. Sinner went on to win that match 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-2, before losing to Casper Ruud in the final.
Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams, said on Instagram: “I think the chances that Jannik Sinner wins Roland Garros cannot be higher. It’s for me as much as the chances for Rafa [Nadal] to win Roland Garros throughout his career. I think he has the same margin.
“Not for the same reason, because the reason why Rafa was unbeatable on clay was also his game style. Jannik has so much margin on any surface, except with Carlos, but Carlos is out. It’s not his game style, it’s his dominance that is unmatched.
“Now if you look at the two years when Novak had the same kind of dominance, 2011 and 2015, in both cases, Novak didn’t win Roland Garros. But there’s a big difference. I think that Jannik’s game for clay is better than Novak’s game for clay.
“Jannik plays with way more margin over the net, I think the quality of his ball is different, which is so important on clay that brings even a little plus to him.”
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic are currently tied at one win each in their head-to-head matches. Interestingly, both wins have come from their two meetings earlier this year.
Sinner started strong with a straight-sets victory in Miami (7-5, 6-3), while Djokovic returned the favour at Indian Wells with a comfortable scoreline of his own (7-5, 6-0).
Their third encounter is now set for Rome this week unless Carlos Alcaraz retires from his semi-final against the Italian starlet.
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