Novak Djokovic is currently ranked 1st on the latest Emirates ATP Rankings with 16,150 points, while his opponent is currently ranked 161st with 331 points. This is the second meeting between these European opponents, with the top seed winning both encounters in straight sets.
The Serbian maestro has been to three of the last four Roland Garros finals, in 2012, 2014 and 2015, losing all three. This is the first time Steve Darcis has made it past the 1st round at the French Open.
Novak Djokovic looking for elusive trophyNovak Djokovic, who has been utterly dominant in the last 12 months, continues to search for his first French Open title. He made the final last year, only to lose to Swiss Stan Wawrinka. He currently hold all remaining three grand slams, and will be hoping to win this title to complete the Grand Slam.
The World Number one, comes into this game in very good form, winning four of his last five matches. Three of these four wins came in the ATP Masters Series in Rome against Stephane Robert (7-5 7-5 on May 11), Thomasz Bellucci (0-6, 6-3, 6-3 on May 12), Rafael Nadal (7-5, 7-6 (6-4) on May 13). He also won his opening match in this tournament against Yen Hsun-Lu (6-4, 6-1, 6-1 on May 24).
The only recent defeat for the 2016 Australian Open winner was the loss to Andy Murray in the final of the ATP Rome Masters (3-6, 3-6 on May 15).
Steve Darcis looking for decent runSteve Darcis who has never made it past the 1st round at this tournament, will have his work cut out against the World Number 1. He has however caused a huge upset in a Grand Slam before, beating Ragael Nadal in Round 1 of the 2013 Wimbledon tournament.
The world number 161, comes into this game in very good form, winning four of his last five matches. These wins have all come in this tournament, winning qualifying games against Nikola Milojevic (3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on May 16), Ruben Bemelmans (6-3, 6-3 on May 18), and Peter Gojowczyk (6-2, 6-2 on May 20). He defeated Marsel Ilhan in the 1st round of this tournament (6-3, 6-4, 6-0 on May 24).
The most recent defeat for the underdog in this tie was against Bjorn Fratangelo in the quarter final of the Bordeaux Challenger competition (6-4, 2-6, 6-7 on May 13).
This is really a game between two tennis players at the opposite ends of the spectrum, Novak Djokovic with 11 Grand Slam titles and 29 Masters 1000 titles, Steve Darcis with 2 ATP titles, and a career high ranking of 44th. This gulf in quality should be apparent on the day, and I expect Novak Djokovic to win this game with minimal fuss.