When was the last time Novak Djokovic decided to play the week before French Open and how did it turn out? All you need to know

Novak Djokovic has accepted a wildcard to play at the Geneva Open, an ATP 250 event that gets underway on Sunday, May 19. His decision came after his third-round loss to Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open.

The Serb, who is going to be 37 next week, also suffered an accidental head injury after his second-round match in Rome. It happened when a metallic water bottle fell on his head somehow as he was greeting the spectators after his victory over Corentin Moutet. However, as per New York Times, he has undergone tests pertaining to the injury in Belgrade already.

Hence, it might be a good idea for him to check his fitness levels by playing in Geneva before the French Open, which begins on May 26.

Djokovic followed the same pattern in 2021

The Serb did the same in 2021 by playing in an ATP 250 tournament called Belgrade 2 in his home country. Before that, he had lost in an epic Italian Open final to Rafael Nadal. Instead of using the following week to recuperate from the loss, Djokovic played and won the title in Belgrade. He won each of the four matches he played in the tournament by straight sets and defeated Alex Molcan of Slovakia in the final.

The Serb had beaten Mats Moraing, Federico Coria and Andrej Martin prior to that in the said tournament. He lost a solitary set -- to Martin in the semifinal -- in the whole championship. It was a straightforward title-triumph for Djokovic, which also gave him some much-needed boost.

The Serb then went on to win his second French Open title in Paris. However, he had to beat Nadal en route to the trophy, prevailing in four well-contested sets. More drama was in store in the final, as Djokovic bounced back from a two-set deficit to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Djokovic survived a scare in his fourth round match against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, too. Musetti won the each of the first two sets through a tie-break, but the Serb fought back by winning the next two sets before getting a walkover while leading 4-0 in the final set.

Beating four less-fancied players in Belgrade was important in the sense that it allowed the Serb to come back to winning ways and put the loss in Rome behind him. It also helped him gain momentum before the all-important Roland Garros.