Djokovic says he's not a favourite, but Osaka hoping clay dedication pays off

World No 1 Novak Djokovic does not consider himself a favourite ahead of his title defence at the French Open, which begins with a first-round match against local hope Pierre-Hugues Herbert on Sunday.

Djokovic’s barren run ahead of Roland Garros continued as the 24-times Grand Slam winner was beaten 6-4 0-6 6-1 by Tomas Machac in the Geneva Open semifinals on Friday, weeks after losing heavily to Alejandro Tabilo in Rome.

The 37-year-old Serb is struggling to regain his rhythm, with many fearing that his erratic form could spell trouble for his bid for a fourth Paris crown. “Of course I am worried... I haven’t been playing good at all this year,” he told reporters after being beaten by Machac.

Asked about his title defence at Roland Garros, Djokovic said: “(I’ve had) some (good) matches here and there but it is what it is. You have to accept it. I don’t consider myself a favourite there."

Naomi Osaka said she was encouraged by her progress on clay in the run up to the French Open, as the four-time Grand Slam winner eyes an elusive trophy on tennis' slowest surface since returning from a 15-month maternity break.

Former world No 1 Osaka, who returned to action in January, has had huge success on hard courts, thanks to her explosive baseline game, but the 26-year-old from Japan has usually struggled on clay.

Now ranked 134th in the world after her long break, Osaka has never reached a final on the surface and has yet to advance beyond the third round at Roland Garros. However, she shrugged off early defeats in Rouen and Madrid before a run to the Italian Open fourth round, earning her first two career top-20 wins on clay in Rome by beating Marta Kostyuk and Daria Kasatkina.

“I think I’ve made a significant amount of progress and I feel like people can see that throughout the tournaments that I’ve played, but I feel like I’ve dedicated a lot of time to learning about clay,” she told reporters.

“I want to do well, and I want to keep beating really good players. Hopefully the last stop here I’ll play well too.”

Osaka, who returns to the French Open after a gap of two years, takes on Italian Lucia Bronzetti first up on Sunday. “I don’t think I’ve ever played her, not to my knowledge. So I’ve seen her around and I know that anyone that’s playing this tournament is a really tough opponent,” Osaka said.

"Plus it’s a first round of a Grand Slam. I’m usually quite nervous during those first-round matches. So I’m just going in there trying my best and seeing if all the lessons that I have learned so far have turned me into a better player.”

She will have the welcome distraction of her daughter Shai at during the tournament. “Being away from her was really tough, but I called her every day. I saw how well she was doing and saw how happy she was, so that made me happy too,” she added.

“Yesterday she walked for the first time, so I was really happy. We’re going to practise some more when I get back. It’s really cool to have her here, just to see how much she’s grown and how many things she’s doing differently. It’s surreal.”