Titles piling up, biggest question now in tennis is: Can Novak Djokovic dethrone Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros?

On the heels of Novak Djokovic capturing the Monte Carlo Masters title on clay, Ahmed Rizvi asks of Rafael Nadal, 'Can the King, who clearly looks under siege at the moment, deny him once again?'

Novak Djokovic reacts after defeating Tomas Berdych in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday. Lionel Cironneau / AP / April 19, 2015

Life has been so good lately that Novak Djokovic must wonder if he is dreaming.

He is 27 and became a father in October; during the previous summer he married his childhood sweetheart, Jelena Ristic. Those are enough reasons for anyone to feel a bit over the moon, but there is more.

Known as the “Djoker” when Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer lorded over men’s tennis, Djokovic is the undisputed No 1 now with a massive 5,460-point lead over the No 2, Federer. The Serb has become the first man in history to win the first three Masters of the year. The past six of the biggest tournaments on the men’s calendar – the Paris, Indians Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo Masters, the 2014 World Tour Final and January’s Australian Open – all bear his name.

“Obviously, I’m experiencing the time of my life,” Djokovic said in Monte Carlo on Sunday after defeating Tomas Berdych for his 23rd Masters title. “I’m just trying to sometimes pinch myself and say, ‘Where am I at this point in my life?’ I’m very grateful for this, for everything that I have.”

But there is one thing that Djokovic dearly wants – the French Open crown. He has lost two finals and a semi-final in the past three years at Roland Garros and the man to beat him on all three occasions was the nine-time French champion, Nadal.

The Spaniard is the “King of Clay” with 46 titles on the surface and a winning percentage of 92.7. At Stade Roland Garros, he has lost only one of his 67 matches, to Robin Soderling in 2009. So you can imagine the odds Djokovic, or anyone else, has been up against in Paris over the past decade.

Overall, Nadal has a 14-5 record against Djokovic on clay, with six of those wins coming at the French Open. The Serb needed 10 matches to get his first win on clay against the Spaniard, and it came at Madrid in 2011, the year that the Djoker dominated so thoroughly.

There have been echoes of that 2011 in Djokovic’s 2015. If you put aside his surprise loss to Ivo Karlovic in Doha in the first week of the year, the Serb has a 28-1 record on the tour – the lone defeat coming in the Dubai final against Federer. He took his revenge against the Swiss in Indians Wells and has beaten Andy Murray in two finals.

And now he has a win over Nadal on clay, as well. The 6-3, 6-3 victory in the Monte Carlo semis could be seen as a statement of intent: Djokovic wants the Spaniard’s crown and, for once, he could be favourite heading into Roland Garros.

Can the King, who clearly looks under siege at the moment, deny him once again? That is the biggest question in tennis this spring.

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