‘Nadal doesn’t have a weakness’
● “Jeu, set et match Rafa Nadal.”
These words are likely to be heard seven times at the French Open as the Spanish juggernaut guns for a record-extending 11th title at Roland Garros.
Nadal, who has a 79-2 win-loss record on the Parisian clay, enters his title defence after a stellar season on his favourite surface. He won at Monte Carlo and Barcelona, claimed a record 50 consecutive sets, then bounced back from defeat in Madrid to take Rome.
His last defeat at Roland Garros came in 2015 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
“It’s always special when I come back to Paris where I’ve had so many wonderful moments in my career,” said Nadal at the draw.
One glance at the draw would have left the 31-year-old Spaniard feeling even more special after former champions Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka as well as clay-court danger man Dominic Thiem all landed in the other half of the draw, where Alexander Zverev is the second seed.
Nadal’s path to the final could see him face childhood friend Richard Gasquet in the third round, possibly Denis Shapovalov in the last-16, then Kevin Anderson, who he beat in the 2017 US Open final, and thirdseed Marin Cilic in the semifinals.
Zverev, who lost to Nadal in the Rome final last weekend, has never got beyond the third round in Paris and was defeated in the first round last year.
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The 21-year-old German, who is seeded second in the absence of Roger Federer, begins his French Open against Ricardis Berankis of Lithuania.
Djokovic, the 2016 champion down at 22 in the rankings after struggling to recover from an elbowinjury, starts against a qualifier and could meet fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round. The 31-year-old Djokovic showed signs of a return to form in Rome where he lost to Nadal in the semifinals. Wawrinka, the 2015 champion in Paris and runner-up to Nadal last year, begins against Spain’s Guillermo Garcia Lopez.
Swiss veteran Wawrinka has missed three months of the year after knee surgery and only returned to action in Geneva this week where he won one match before losing in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
“But there’s still an opportunity for someone to beat him at the French. It’s difficult because it’s five sets. I don’t know why, but there could be an opportunity. He is the best player of all time on clay,” said Wawrinka.
If Thiem cannot deliver, the 21-year-old Zverev might be the man in the absence of Roger Federer, who is skipping the claycourt season.
“(Zverev) is way more mature now in the last two or three months, ever since Australia,” three-times French Open champion Mats Wilander told Reuters. “He is more certain of how he needs to play.” Zverev lost to Nadal in the Rome final.
“Nadal doesn’t really have a weakness,” added Wilander. — Reuters and AFP