Novak Djokovic is likely to make his much-awaited comeback at the Rome Masters that will begin from May 6. The Serb has been out of action since the Indian Wells Open, where he sustained a right shoulder injury. With his participation at the Italian Open, Djokovic will be able to get some much-needed match practice before the French Open. However, his path in the tournament appears to be anything but easy.

Despite being out of action for almost two months, Djokovic hasn’t lost many places on the rankings and will enter the Rome Masters as the fourth seed. As a result, he will get a bye in the first round and will begin his campaign from the R64. He will either encounter a qualifier or Marton Fucsovics in his first match of the tournament.

A win here would see Djokovic move into the R32, where he can potentially come up against Ugo Humbert, Fabian Marozsan, or Vit Kopriva. If he makes it through here, then either Karen Khachanov or Arthur Rinderknech will await him in the last 16. This can turn out to be a tricky match for the veteran, who will come to the competition with no match practice on clay.

Things will become increasingly hard for Djokovic from the quarterfinal stage. He can potentially be drawn against the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Casper Ruud, Jiri Lehecka, or Francisco Cerundolo. Any of these players can go on to give the veteran a run for his money, and none of them will be easy to tackle.

If Djokovic wins here, then he will advance into the semis. He will have to go up against another tough opponent here, as the list of potential opponents includes Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, and Alexander Bublik. These three players are all ranked within the top 15 on the rankings and can very well get the better of the Serb.

A win in this round would see Djokovic reach his 13th final at the Italian Open. The match here would again be very difficult as his potential opponents can turn out to be Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, and Daniil Medvedev. All of these players are highly ranked and can go on to spoil Djokovic’s party if they meet him in the penultimate match.

Even though he is returning from a serious injury, Djokovic is the last player anyone would want to underestimate. The 38-year-old has previously won the Rome Masters on six occasions and is one of the most successful players in the tournament’s history.

Despite his increasing age, Djokovic has already proven that he still has a lot left in the tank. He made it to the final of the Australian Open earlier this year, defeating two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semis. Though he fell on the final hurdle against Carlos Alcaraz, it still proved to be a successful campaign for Nole.

He has an impressive win-loss record of 7-2 this season and is still among the highest-ranked players in the world. Though it appears to be clear that Djokovic is still not done with tennis, rumors about his retirement popped up once again due to his long absence. He had recently addressed the growing speculations and had given a very direct response.

Novak Djokovic is not in the mood to retire anytime soon

“What keeps me going is first and foremost my love for the game. Tennis has been my life for so long, and I still enjoy every moment on the court. I love the competition, I love the challenge, and I still feel strong and capable of competing with the younger players — that’s a big part of the fun for me,” Djokovic said in his interview with Esquire Australia.

The World No. 4 also feels that he is yet to “complete” tennis even though he has 24 Grand Slams under his name, the most for any men’s player in history.

“But I don’t feel like I’ve ‘completed’ tennis. My motivation to keep playing comes from my love for the game, from competition, and from challenging myself,” he added.

Though Djokovic had looked to be in great form at the Australian Open, his momentum was halted due to the injury he suffered at Indian Wells. With the French Open being on the horizon, the veteran will be aiming to make a strong return on clay and make a deep run at the Rome Masters.

Will Djokovic be able to put in a strong performance at the Italian capital, or will he get knocked out in the first few rounds? Let us know your predictions in the comments!