The 2024 French Open begins with some salivating match-ups from this weekend and beyond, and as has so often been the case for the last 15 years of grand slam tennis, Novak Djokovic is the man to beat, having lifted his third Roland-Garros title last year with a straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud in the 2023 final.
Djokovic enters Roland-Garros this year seeded at the top of the pile, reflecting his status as both the reigning champion and world number one coming into the second grand slam of a packed ATP Tour calendar in 2024. 2023 saw him collect the Australian, French and US Open titles, and another three-peat could be on the cards this year.
The field at Roland-Garros is a strong one though, none more so than second seed Jannik Sinner, who defeated Djokovic in the semifinals on his way to a first career grand slam at the Australian Open in January. Carlos Alcaraz also beat the Serb in last year’s Wimbledon final to deny Djokovic a clean sweep of grand slam victories, and is seeded third coming into the French Open.
Djokovic’s opening-round opponent is a wild-card pick whom he’ll face first up this weekend, and with a fourth French Open title at stake, he can avoid no slip-ups. The Sporting News is on hand to help you keep tabs on all the action as Djokovic looks to go on another Grand Slam-winning run in 2024.
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When is Novak Djokovic’s next French Open 2024 match?
The first round pits Djokovic against French wildcard pick Pierre-Hugues Herbert, once ranked as highly as 36th in the world but now pitted at no.140. The pair will face off at Roland-Garros on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Having been selected in the top half of the draw for this year’s French Open, Djokovic could also end up facing a reunion with last’s year’s runner-up Casper Ruud, as well as fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 14-time champion Rafael Nadal.
That’s if he progresses past Herbert of course, and if he does as is expected, Djokovic will face either Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena or another Frenchman, Constant Lestienne, in the second round.
What time is Novak Djokovic vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert?
Nadal faces Herbet on Tuesday, May 28. The order of play for Tuesday has not yet been confirmed, but as the reigning champion, he will likely be first on court at 12 p.m. CET.
The Sporting News will update this post when those details are released, but here is how that 12 p.m. local time translates to some of the key time zones.
| Country | Date | Time |
| UK (BST) | Monday, May 27 | 11:00 a.m. |
| Canada (ET) | Monday, May 27 | 6:00 a.m. |
| US (ET) | Monday, May 27 | 6:00 a.m. |
Novak Djokovic next match TV channel, live stream
As the defending champion and bonafide world number one coming into the 2024 French Open, Djokovic is undoubtedly a huge draw for all fans of tennis at this year’s tournament.
As such, there’s a plethora of coverage of his match against Herbert from Roland-Garros, and here’s a look at the expected TV channels and live streams in the major territories:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | Tennis Channel, NBC, Peacock | Fubo, Sling TV, TCPlus |
| Canada | TSN, RDS |
TSN Direct, RDS streaming |
| UK | Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 | Discovery+ |
If the French Open is not available to watch live in your location or if you’re traveling abroad, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure and private online connection, allowing you to bypass geographical restrictions to access your favourite streaming services from any device anywhere in the world.
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Novak Djokovic’s French Open record
He may be the defending champion having defeated Ruud in last year’s Roland-Garros final, but the French Open is actually the grand slam event in which Djokovic has the world record over the course of his storied professional career.
The Serbian still has an amazing three titles, won in 2016, 2021 and 2023, putting him joint-seventh in the overall French Open rankings, but that pales in comparison to the record-breaking 14 won by Rafael Nadal, and the 10 that Djokovic himself has won at the Australian Open, another grand slam event.
Djokovic has lost four deciders at Roland Garros — thrice to Nadal and another to Stanislas Wawrinka — making it the only grand slam other than the US Open in which the Serb has lost more finals than he’s won. That could all change this year though, and a fourth French Open victory would take Djokovic to a quarter-century of major titles.
