{"id":74490,"date":"2025-05-04T18:28:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T18:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/74490\/"},"modified":"2025-05-04T18:28:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T18:28:10","slug":"jim-courier-picks-whats-more-likely-to-happen-at-the-french-open-out-of-iga-swiatek-making-the-final-or-novak-djokovic-reaching-the-second-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/74490\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Courier picks what&#8217;s more likely to happen at the French Open out of Iga Swiatek making the final or Novak Djokovic reaching the second week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The 2025 French Open is less than a month away as the stars of men\u2019s and women\u2019s tennis prepare to battle it out for the title in Paris.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/chris-evert-predicts-how-many-times-iga-swiatek-can-win-at-the-french-open-after-successful-title-defence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iga Swiatek won her third consecutive French Open<\/a> title, beating Italy\u2019s Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 6-1, in the final.<\/p>\n<p>On the men\u2019s side, three-time champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/novak-djokovic-provides-positive-post-surgery-update-after-french-open-withdrawal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Novak Djokovic withdrew ahead of his quarterfinal match<\/a> with Casper Ruud, as he succumbed to injury.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2156151196-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Tim Clayton\/Corbis via Getty Images\" class=\"wp-image-66549\" \/>Photo by Tim Clayton\/Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Both players have struggled for form in 2025, and are trophy-less as we enter the fifth month of the season, a rare occurrence for two players who have spent over 100 weeks ranked number one in the world.<\/p>\n<p>With both players low on confidence approaching this year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/french-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">French Open<\/a>, two tennis legends have shared their predictions on how Swiatek and Djokovic will perform at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Courier thinks Novak Djokovic will qualify for the second week of the 2025 French Open<\/p>\n<p>Appearing on the Tennis Channel Live Podcast, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/jim-courier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Courier<\/a> was asked what he believes is more likely to happen: Swiatek reach the French Open final, or Djokovic make it to the second week at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Rome will be really instructive to see how she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/iga-swiatek\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">[Iga Swiatek]<\/a> pulls up there, in conditions more similar to Roland Garros,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut best of five format, probably gives that cushion for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Novak [Djokovic]<\/a> to work his way through a draw and into the round of 16 if he\u2019s healthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe seems healthy, just oddly not playing in Rome, and I am still puzzled by that. I just don\u2019t really understand it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"723\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1342272408-1024x723.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images for Laver Cup\" class=\"wp-image-70348\" \/>Photo by Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images for Laver Cup<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut for him to win three matches vs Iga winning six matches, I think maybe Novak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two-time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/us-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">US Open<\/a> champion Tracy Austin answered the same question, agreeing with her fellow American.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am going to go with Novak Djokovic making the second week,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/tracy-austin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Austin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe got to the semis of Australia. The finals of Miami. He has looked a bit off in the other tournaments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Iga [Swiatek], that one-month suspension at the end of last year, her grandfather passed away a week or so ago, she looked all out of sorts against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/coco-gauff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coco [Gauff]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2156450865-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Tim Clayton\/Corbis via Getty Images\" class=\"wp-image-8098\" \/>Photo by Tim Clayton\/Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has not been to a final since Roland Garros last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek has remarkably lost five semi-finals since, as she\u2019s yet to return to a Championship match.<\/p>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Tournament<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Opponent<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Score<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2025 Madrid Open<\/td>\n<td>Coco Gauff<\/td>\n<td>1-6, 1-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2025 Indian Wells<\/td>\n<td>Mirra Andreeva<\/td>\n<td>6-7, 6-1, 3-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2025 Qatar Open<\/td>\n<td>Jelena Ostapenko<\/td>\n<td>3-6, 1-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2025 Australian Open<\/td>\n<td>Madison Keys<\/td>\n<td>7-5, 1-6, 6-7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2024 Cincinnati Open<\/td>\n<td>Aryna Sabalenka<\/td>\n<td>3-6, 3-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>Iga Swiatek\u2019s semi-final defeats since 2024 French Open<\/p>\n<p>The Pole will no doubt hope to go all the way in Paris next month, as she looks to become the first player to win four-straight French Open women\u2019s singles titles in the Open Era.<\/p>\n<p>Novak Djokovic\u2019s dire French Open preparation<\/p>\n<p>During his time as a professional, Djokovic has picked up 20 clay-court titles, a mightily impressive tally.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inline-links multi\">\n<li>Grand Slam \u2013 3<\/li>\n<li>Olympic Games \u2013 1<\/li>\n<li>Masters 1000 \u2013 11<\/li>\n<li>ATP 250 \u2013 5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, his performances on the surface have been poor in 2025, losing both of the matches he\u2019s played on clay.<\/p>\n<p>2025 Monte-Carlo Masters \u2013 Novak Djokovic lost to Alejandro Tabilo<\/p>\n<p>Traveling to the principality as the number three seed, Djokovic was hoping to kick off his clay-court campaign with a big win over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/alejandro-tabilo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alejandro Tabilo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/novak-djokovic-very-concerned-after-what-he-felt-during-his-rome-open-defeat-to-alejandro-tabilo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tabilo had beaten Djokovic<\/a> one year earlier at the Italian Open, and he quickly took the initiative in their second career meeting.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Unable to take back control, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/andy-roddick-says-if-hes-now-worried-about-novak-djokovic-after-his-surprise-monte-carlo-masters-loss-to-alejandro-tabilo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Djokovic slumped to a disappointing 3-6, 4-6 defeat<\/a> against Tabilo.<\/p>\n<p>He had the perfect opportunity to bounce back, however, when he traveled to Spain for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/madrid-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Madrid Open<\/a>, a tournament he\u2019d won three times previously.<\/p>\n<p>2025 Madrid Open \u2013 Novak Djokovic lost to Matteo Arnaldi<\/p>\n<p>After resting for several weeks while his rivals competed in Barcelona and Munich, Djokovic returned to action in Madrid, taking on Matteo Arnaldi in his opener.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian had spoken openly about how he \u2018idolized\u2019 Djokovic during his younger years, but showed no mercy as he made light work of the 24-time Major champion in straight sets.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/boris-becker-has-a-three-word-reaction-after-novak-djokovic-withdraws-from-the-italian-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Djokovic then withdrew from the Italian Open<\/a>, meaning he will likely step onto the court in Paris without a 2025 clay court victory to his name.<\/p>\n<p>The Serb will have to rely on his pedigree and experience at the event if he wants to win a fourth French Open title this year, as his clay-court form looks anything but Grand Slam worthy.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2155364328-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Ibrahim Ezzat\/NurPhoto via Getty Images\" class=\"wp-image-7740\" \/>Photo by Ibrahim Ezzat\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Betting against Djokovic is a dangerous game, however, as the Serb has proven many times why fans shouldn\u2019t count him out.<\/p>\n<p>Djokovic will return to action at the French Open, which begins on Sunday, May 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 French Open is less than a month away as the stars of men\u2019s and women\u2019s tennis&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4105],"tags":[4294,23810,23860,4295,79,1068,16,15,5069],"class_list":{"0":"post-74490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-atp","9":"tag-iga-swiatek","10":"tag-jim-courier","11":"tag-novak-djokovic","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tennis","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wta"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114450982897047660","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}