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Paris - World No 2 Novak Djokovic expects Stanislas Wawrinka
and Andy Murray to lift their game at the French Open despite failing to make
an impact so far in the clay court season.
Murray lost to Fabio Fognini earlier this week in the second
round of the Italian Open, while Wawrinka became the latest high-profile
casualty at the event after suffering a straight sets defeat to American John
Isner on Thursday.
Djokovic is wary of the threat Wawrinka poses at Roland
Garros having lost to the Swiss in the final two years ago. He also expects
Briton Murray to be ready despite five victories from his last 10 matches.
"Some top players come out and play their best when
it's most needed, which is grand slams," Djokovic told reporters.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Wawrinka or Murray
playing at a really high level in Paris, because I guess they are aiming to do
that."
"And it's best of five and played every second day,
which allows you to have more time to rest and recover, whereas in these
tournaments...you play day after day after day, and it's very intense for the
body and for the mind and so forth."
The Serb has recently picked up his form after conceding his
No 1 ranking to Murray at the end of last season.
He defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4 to book his place in the quarterfinals at Rome for the 11th consecutive year, where he will face Juan Martin del Potro later on Friday.
