Novak Djokovic is back. The 38-year-old Serbian, a six-time champion at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, will play his first competitive match in nearly two months when he opens his Rome campaign this week, ending a layoff that had stretched on since a fourth-round exit at Indian Wells in early March.
Djokovic, the third seed, drew Marton Fucsovics or a qualifier in the second round following an opening-round bye. The Hungarian has lost in the first round of both Monte Carlo and Madrid this clay swing, an inviting matchup on paper for a player shaking off rust on his preferred slow surface. From there the path stiffens quickly.
The draw
A potential third-round meeting with Ugo Humbert is the first genuine test, though clay is not the Frenchman’s natural ground. Karen Khachanov, Arthur Rinderknech or Botic van de Zandschulp loom in the fourth round, with eighth seed and home favourite Lorenzo Musetti, 11th seed Jiri Lehecka or 23rd seed Casper Ruud projected as quarterfinal opponents.
The bottom half of the draw places Djokovic alongside Madrid finalist and second seed Alexander Zverev, the two-time Rome champion who fell to Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the Spanish capital on Sunday.
Should both advance, a semifinal between the pair would be Djokovic’s stiffest test before any potential title match. World No. 1 Sinner, fresh off a record fifth consecutive Masters 1000 title, sits in the opposite half.
The fitness question
Djokovic enters Rome with question marks rather than answers. He has not played an official match since Indian Wells in early March, where he reached the fourth round. Beyond the layoff itself, training images from his Marbella preparation block reportedly showed a sleeve on his right arm — an unconfirmed but conspicuous detail given the player’s history of carefully managed loads in the back half of his career.
He is 7-2 for the 2026 season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, with the headline result a run to the Australian Open final in January, where he ultimately fell short of a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title. He has not played on clay in 2026.
Rome history
Few venues suit Djokovic’s record quite like the Foro Italico. His six Rome titles — won in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2022 — place him second only to Rafael Nadal on the all-time list at the event. He has won every ATP Masters 1000 tournament at least twice in his career, the only man to complete that double Career Golden Masters. The trophy at Rome is one Djokovic knows intimately.
The historical context matters this week not only because of his familiarity with the surroundings, but because of where his return points. Rome has long served as a Roland Garros tune-up, and Djokovic remains tied with Margaret Court at 24 Grand Slam titles. A French Open run in two weeks — his stated priority for the clay swing — would carry the chance of standing alone atop the all-time list.
The wider context
Djokovic’s return arrives at a moment when the men’s game’s narrative has been almost entirely captured by Sinner and the absent Carlos Alcaraz, the defending Rome champion who withdrew with a wrist injury. The Spaniard’s absence opens an unusually clean path for Sinner to complete the Career Golden Masters on home soil and become only the second man in history — after Djokovic himself — to do so.
That symmetry is not lost on the Foro Italico crowd. The tournament begins Tuesday with main-draw play running through May 17. Djokovic’s first match is expected later in the week.
Whether the 24-time Grand Slam champion can find competitive rhythm quickly enough to threaten deep in the draw is the central question of his fortnight in Rome. The answers begin shortly.
