Novak Djokovic insists he is not feeling the pressure of time as he prepares for another shot at winning the French Open title.
The world number one has fallen agonisingly short of the trophy he needs to complete his set of grand slams, losing in the final three times in the last four years.
Last year he finally defeated Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros only to run into Stan Wawrinka in the form of his life.
This year he is a bigger favourite than ever having dominated the sport over the past 18 months, but the question remains whether he can overcome the mental obstacle to lift the trophy he covets most.
Djokovic turns 29 on Sunday, the day the tournament starts, but he in no way feels he is in the last-chance saloon.
The Serbian said: "A ge is just a number for me, so I still feel like I have plenty more years ahead of me, which gives me more comfort in terms of opportunities I'm going to have at the title of Roland Garros, which releases more pressure for me this year.
"So of course I anticipate myself, as everybody else, to try to get my hands on this title this year. But if it doesn't happen, there is always another year, because I don't have any intention of slowing down yet.
"On the other hand, even if it never happens, I need to be very humble and realistic and see my results and my career and need to be satisfied with what I have achieved so far.
"Even if my career was done tomorrow, I made some achievements that I must be proud of. So that's how I approach things. I don't try to approach them from a point of view of being obsessed with this tournament."
Djokovic began 2016 in more impressive form than ever, winning the Australian Open for a sixth time and then successfully defending his Indian Wells and Miami titles.
Clay has been more tricky, with a shock loss to Jiri Vesely in Monte Carlo followed by a title in Madrid but then a bad-tempered defeat by Andy Murray in the final in Rome last weekend.
It was a difficult week for Djokovic, who lost a set to Thomaz Bellucci 6-0 and seemed mentally spent in his 6-3 6-3 loss against Murray.
But he appeared refreshed ahead of a first-round clash with Lu Yen-hsun in Paris, and said: "I t's not the first time I get to encounter this kind of sensations and pressures and so forth.
"The preparation is going well this week. I'm not going to change anything in particular. I'm going to keep the same kind of routine and programme that I have been respecting for many years.
"I got 10 matches out of two weeks, which is the maximum I could get out of Madrid and Rome, and it was a perfect way of getting the match play that I needed before the French Open."
The draw placed nine-time champion Nadal in Djokovic's half, and it would be a surprise if there were too many alarms for the world number one on the way to the last four.
Nadal and Djokovic could have met in the quarter-finals had it not been for the withdrawal of Roger Federer, elevating the Spaniard to fourth seed.
Federer is missing a grand slam for the first time since 1999 because of a back injury.
Djokovic said: "I t's definitely a loss for the tournament. We're not used to seeing Roger skipping grand slams, seeing as he hasn't missed one for 60-plus times.
"But obviously the nature of his injury is not light, and it kept him off this tournament that I'm sure that if there was any chance he could play he would participate."
Source: PA
