The Tennis Traveler: Experience Paris the Novak Djokovic way ahead of Roland Garros

There’s only one way to prepare for Roland Garros this year, and that’s by summoning the spirit of the most recent championship efforts that took place in Paris: the Olympic gold medal performance of one Novak Djokovic, of course.

Will implementing this strategy assure a Grand Slam title on clay? The answer is not "no," but we do know that sprinkling a little bit of Djokovic's favorite things into a tennis trip to Paris each May will improve the mood exponentially.

The following don’t require racquets, tennis balls, nor a tennis court. Instead, dive into Djokovic’s off-court Parisian pastimes that are not only accessible to traveling tennis fans, but don’t require any tennis-playing experience.

Take his Sunday spent in Bois de Boulogne after the first week of Roland Garros last year as an example.

The day after playing Bacci with friendly neighborhood Frenchmen, Djokovic overtook Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round of Roland Garros, a match that saw the Serb fight from two-sets-to-one down and took more than four-and-a-half hours to finish.

Who can be certain that it wasn’t a casual game of Bacci that helped ground Djokovic the day before a crucial match?

Read more: Why Paris is the place to be for Roland Garros

Bacci in Bois de Boulogne when traveling to Paris is high on the list of must-do, friendly backyard neighborhood games. Taking an afternoon to Bacci like the champ could make the difference between a tennis traveling trip and travel plans with a side of Roland Garros.

Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee that those exact Frenchmen will be in the park playing Bacci during your trip or want to play Bacci with you upon request.

And part two of a clay-court champion’s match-day preparation? Swapping racquets for paddles.

Not pickleball, not padel. But rather, kayaking.

“To get in the zone for Olympics, thought I’d try one of the other events,” Djokovic captioned a different post last year.

While the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium hosted the Paris Olympic rowing events about 40 kilometers northeast from Roland Garros, Djokovic opted for a yellow dinghy on the River Seine just four kilometers away from Court Philippe-Chatrier.

BAC Canoë-Kayak Sèvres Issy offers water sporting equipment of all colors, but requesting a yellow one for the true Djokovic experience is highly encouraged by this tennis traveler.

No tennis experience is required for kayaking, but the physical mobility required for the sport also supports swift movement on the water.

There's no better time to experience Paris the Novak Djokovic way than during Roland Garros, which begins on May 25 and runs through June 8.

Aching for even more Djoker? Tune into Tennis Channel's coverage of the Gonet Geneva Open this week, where the Serb is hoping to snag his 100th career singles title.