People, slow down — Djokovic is not already in the final

But is it really so? The Italian did seem like an insurmountable obstacle for everyone &mdash; until this afternoon.As far as Novak is concerned, the plan and the road ahead before a potential final have not changed much.He got past the Frenchmen, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Valentin Royer, more or less routinely, despite dropping one set in each of the opening rounds.It was truly hard to believe that a two-meter-tall player with a one-handed backhand and a virtual unknown could seriously trouble this version of Novak, who is still warming up his engine and reaching full operating temperature.The French duo served as solid preparation for everything awaiting him in the later stages of the French Open.The upcoming opponents are far more serious, so much so that the enthusiasm and excessive optimism among Novak&rsquo;s fans could quickly fade.EPA/MOHAMMED BADRAThe first of five obstacles on the road to an incredible 25th Grand Slam title will be young Brazilian Jo&atilde;o Fonseca.Fonseca has for some time been regarded as the leader of the newest generation of tennis players &mdash; those coming after Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.It seems, however, that the so-called hype began even before the Brazilian had fully earned it.Fonseca is undoubtedly young &mdash; only 19 years old &mdash; and is gradually developing and establishing himself among the world&rsquo;s top players, but he still has not achieved a major Grand Slam result.So far, he has defeated Luka Pavlovic and Dino Prižmić, coming back from 0-2 down against the latter, thereby matching his best-ever Grand Slam performance.He previously reached the third round of both the French Open and Wimbledon last year, and he has won two titles in his career.People are still waiting for him to truly shine and break through those barriers &mdash; and where better to do that than against the greatest player in the history of the game, on a stage as grand as Court Philippe-Chatrier?EPA/YOAN VALATStill, it seems Fonseca may have to wait a little longer, and that Novak&rsquo;s real problem at this tournament could actually be the opponent awaiting him in the fourth round &mdash; provided, of course, that he takes care of business beforehand.Casper Ruud, whose ATP ranking (No. 16) does not quite reflect the real state of affairs, looks like a very serious challenge on clay.A two-time French Open finalist and a player who has won 13 of his 14 career titles on clay certainly cannot be underestimated.He defeated Novak in their most recent meeting, in Monte Carlo in 2024, although he had lost the previous five encounters without winning a single set.There is no need to overhype him, but his clay-court expertise and fairly solid form &mdash; contrasted with the fact that Novak has long been selective about tournaments and that his physical condition is not entirely clear &mdash; give us reason to expect a very close match in a potential round-of-16 clash.A similar type of player could await Novak in the quarterfinals as well, where the top seed in that section is Alex de Minaur, while possible opponents also include Jakub Men&scaron;&iacute;k, Nuno Borges, and Andrey Rublev.EPA/MOHAMMED BADRAThe story is more or less the same as with Ruud. De Minaur is a serious player, but what ultimately holds him back &mdash; much like Rublev &mdash; is the biggest stage. They will beat almost everyone ranked below them, but once they reach this phase of the tournament and run into the biggest names, their journey ends in 90 percent of cases.The only specific issue here is that we do not really know what to expect from Novak. His infrequent appearances do not give us a clear picture of his current level.Alexander Zverev is looming in the semifinals, unless someone like Karen Khachanov or Rafael Jodar manages to stop him beforehand.The other half of the draw, where Sinner was supposed to be the overwhelming favorite, now remains a complete mystery, with many contenders emerging.Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton appear to be the most serious contenders based on ranking, while not much seems to remain of players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini. Lurking in the shadows are Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Rinderknech, Luciano Darderi, and why not even the French sensation Mo&iuml;se Kouam&eacute;.One thing is clear: either Novak will win the French Open, or we are going to get a new Grand Slam champion.

People, slow down — Djokovic is not already in the final

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