Day 1 Under the lights: Novak returns

But these are not normal circumstances. Djokovic has played just one match since mid-March thanks to a troublesome shoulder that has stubbornly refused to heal for months now. He was not really ready to play in Rome a couple of weeks ago but with Roland-Garros approaching fast, he wanted to get at least one match under his belt. It didn’t end well – he lost in three sets to Dino Prizmic – but it was a match nonetheless.

“I was far from being ready to compete,” he said, “but still, I needed at least that one match just to have the score called by a chair umpire and have experience of the nerves before I eventually come to Roland Garros, which at that point I didn't know if I was going to be able to play or not. Thankfully, the response of the body and the preparation has been positive in the last 10 days, so here I am, and we'll see what happens.”

He has a huge hurdle to overcome on Sunday night in the shape of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, all 6ft 7ins (201cms) of him. The world No.80 and France’s No.8 is a big man with a huge serve and a walloping forehand – that will test Novak’s poorly shoulder all right. Yet Mpetshi Perricard has had injury issues of his own to deal with.

“Lately I had problems,” he said. “My wrist was in a bit of a problematic shape for a month on clay, but now I'm better, and I'm ready. 100 per cent ready.”

He knows he will have to be ready: no one takes Djokovic, even a struggling Djokovic, lightly. “It's quite impressive when you have such a major name as an opponent,” the Frenchman said enthusiastically.

“No matter what happens at the end of the match, it's going to bring a lot to my game. So I'm very excited.”