Novak Djokovic to appear in record 82nd Grand Slam at the French Open with barely any match play

PARIS — Novak Djokovic will set a record the moment he steps on court for his opening match at the French Open against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the night session on Sunday.

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Two days after his 39th birthday, Djokovic will play a men’s record 82nd Grand Slam tournament — one more than Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez.

For all his experience, though — he shares the record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles with Margaret Court — Djokovic comes to Roland Garros with hardly any match preparation.

Djokovic lost to Croatian qualifier Dino Prižmić at the Italian Open in his only match on clay this year — after two months out due to a right shoulder injury.

“I wanted to play more but my body was not allowing me,” Djokovic said, adding he “was far from ready to compete” in Rome. “But, still, I needed at least that one match just to have the score called by the chair umpire and have experience of the nerves before I eventually come to Roland Garros, which at that point I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play or not.

“Thankfully, the response of the body and the preparation has been positive in the last 10 days, so here I am, and we’ll see what happens.”

Djokovic will also tie French players Richard Gasquet and Antoine Gentian with a men’s record 22nd appearance at Roland Garros. He has reached at least the quarterfinals in 19 of the last 20 editions and raised the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy in 2016, 2021 and 2023.

Despite his reduced schedule of late, it should be remembered that he reached this year’s Australian Open final where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

With Alcaraz, the two-time reigning French Open champion, sitting out Roland Garros and Wimbledon with an injured right wrist, Djokovic sees a chance for himself in the lower half of the draw. He would meet top-ranked Jannik Sinner, who is on a 29-match winning streak, only in the final.

“I feel like if I’m healthy and I’m able to maintain that level of freshness throughout the tournament,” the fourth-ranked Djokovic said, “then I feel like I have always a very good chance. I have proven that in Australia this year. … I always have that belief in me when I’m on the court.”

Along with 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka, who is playing his final French Open, Djokovic is the only former men’s singles champion competing in Paris.

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The 80th-ranked Mpetshi Perricard is 6 feet 7 inches and known for his big serve. He’s also French, which could make for a divided crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Arthur Fils, the top-ranked French player at No. 19, withdrew from the French Open on Saturday because of a hip injury.

Fils had retired in the first set of his opening match at the Italian Open in his last Roland Garros warmup.

The 21-year-old Fils said his hip “was bothering me a lot” and while exams didn’t reveal any issues he still felt “a lot of pain.”

“So I was not able to practice for the last two weeks. Actually, the practice today was my first-ever points since two weeks (ago) in Rome,” Fils added. “I will not be fit 100 percent to play the tournament, and I will not take any risk like I did last year. I don’t want to be stupid.”

Fils withdrew from last year’s French Open after the second round due to a stress fracture in his lower back.

Fils had performed well enough lately to give home fans hope that he might become the first French man to win Roland Garros since Yannick Noah in 1983.

After missing the second half of last year due to his back injury, Fils had established a 22-7 record this year with deep runs in Doha; Indian Wells, California; Miami; and Madrid. He also won a clay-court title in Barcelona.

Fils was slated to open against 41-year-old Wawrinka, who will face a qualifier instead.

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Play in Paris starts on Sunday.