Former World No. 6 explains the key changes Novak Djokovic made ahead of Roland Garros

After an early-round exit at Indian Wells and a finals loss in Miami to rising star Jakub Mensik, Novak Djokovic is now shifting focus to the clay season. With Roland Garros looming and the 100th ATP title within reach, former World No. 6 Gilles Simon is highlighting the critical tweaks Djokovic has made to stay competitive.

As with all athletes, age eventually starts to take a toll—some adjust better than others. Simon believes Djokovic has made the right changes to ease the physical burden that once fueled his success.

Speaking with Tennis365, Simon explained how Djokovic has evolved, playing smarter and more aggressively to manage his physical output. “It’s a very logical way,” said Simon. “He’s serving better and better, because he needs more free points than before. He’s less capable of holding his level playing full intensity, every point from the baseline for four or five sets, what he was doing before with Rafa [Nadal] – we all watched it”.

Simon pointed out that during Djokovic’s 2023 Roland Garros title run, there were stretches where he appeared to hold back—deliberately conserving energy to make it through the match.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates with the winners trophy after victory against Casper Ruud of Norway in the 2023 Roland Garros final. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“It has already been a few years [now] where he can only play that level for one hour and a half and sometimes one set, or some moments in the match,” he continued. “Even when he won the French Open or Wimbledon, there is one set where he is not playing it, because he needs to recover – something he would never do before. Before he was full gas, first to last point”.

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Simon says Djokovic is making different in-game decisions

According to the French former pro, Djokovic no longer sticks to the relentless playing style that defined him in his prime. Instead, he adapts to how his body feels and paces himself accordingly.

“The choices he is making sometimes are different because he has to know how to handle this energy and regulate it, to play the five sets,” he noted. “That’s where the logic is different. It’s no longer: ‘No matter what happened, I will go full power first to last point”.

“He’s really smart, he understands everything, he’s super good obviously. He understands now how his body is responding and where the limit is, and where he has to change the choice and be a bit more aggressive to have shorter points in some moments, to hold the whole match,” Simon added.