Novak Djokovic keeps playing even though his level of success is nowhere near what it used to be. Father Time always wins out in the end. Whether it is form or injuries, Djokovic cannot compete for titles as he once did. He is the best player ever, but also currently an also-ran most of the time.
One might wonder why he keeps playing. We can safely assume he doesn't need the money. He holds many of the important records. Perhaps he is driven by getting to 100 tour-level titles. He has 99. Once he achieves that, he would trail Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) in victories.
The way the Serb has played over the last couple of years and the number of tournaments he has committed to playing in the future make catching Connors seemingly impossible. Still, 100 has a special ring to it. He won't get that at the Italian Open, though.
Novak Djokovic surprisingly takes a wild card to play in the Geneva Open
Djokovic is skipping the Masters 1000 event, and it seemed like his next tournament would be the French Open. Instead, the 24-time Grand Slam champion zigged when no one expected him to even zag. He is taking a wild card to play in the Geneva Open, a week ahead of the major in Paris. The Geneva event is only a 250, so why would he play?
There could be a couple of reasons for it. A title might be slightly easier than playing in a Masters tournament. He could get his 100th title as a lead-up to the French Open.
The other reason for playing Geneva and not Rome is that, in his current form, Djokovic is likely to make a longer run against the relative lesser competition of a 250 versus a 1000 tournament. The Serb not only needs to improve his form, but he also needs to get in some match work.
He has lost his first match in four of his last five events. He did reach the final of the Miami Masters, but that tournament was in March. There is no way to expect success in Paris if he isn't in peak shape, and one way of getting there is to play more tennis.
Still, Novak Djokovic is very unlikely to win the French Open due to his form. Of course, many might have thought that ahead of the Paris Olympics last year, and he won that event to finish off a career Golden Slam.