King of Clay and court elder Venus can rule in Paris
WITH the world’s top five for the first time all over 30, Rafael Nadal is poised to tighten the old guard’s grand slam grip by capturing an unprecedented 10th French Open, which starts in Paris today.
The Spaniard, written off as a contender in Paris after a quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic in 2015 and an injury-enforced pullout before the third round last year, arrives at Roland Garros as the new favourite to add the 2017 title to victories in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
The 30-year-old has already reached the magical 10 titles this year at the clay-court events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. For good measure, he also won Madrid for a fifth time, ending a sevenmatch losing streak, stretching back over two years, against Djokovic in the process.
Even losing in the Rome quarterfinals to young pretender Dominic Thiem has not diminished the Spaniard’s confidence.
“To win four tournaments before Roland Garros, nobody has ever done this,” said Nadal, who will turn 31 on June 3.
Nadal’s record on clay against the world’s top two is also heavily in his favour — 8-2 against Andy Murray (2-0 at Roland Garros) and 10-5 when facing Djokovic (5-1 in Paris).
Nadal boasts a sensational career record at Roland Garros — 72 wins and just two defeats, to Djokovic in 2015 and an injury-affected shock loss to Robin Soderling in 2009.
That defeat to the Swede opened the door for Roger Federer to win his only French Open title.
However, Federer, at 35, the oldest in the top five, is skipping the French Open to save himself for an assault on an eighth Wimbledon.
Djokovic, the defending champion in Paris, and world No 1 Murray are struggling for form and confidence.
Djokovic will work with US legend Andre Agassi for the first time, having dropped his long-serving back-up team in a desperate attempt to get back on track.
Djokovic completed the career grand slam at last year’s French Open when he also held all four majors.
On clay this year, he has at least been on an upward curve — quarterfinal in Monte Carlo, semifinal in Madrid and a runners-up spot in Rome where he was comprehensively demolished by young German Alexander Zverev. VETERAN Venus Williams could blast through the huge holes in the women’s draw and win her first French Open at the age of 36, says former world No 3 Pam Shriver.
With Williams’ pregnant sister and three times French champion Serena absent, Russia’s two-time winner Maria Sharapova failing to gain a wildcard after returning from a doping ban and Belarusian Victoria Azarenka still not back after becoming a mother, the biggest names are missing.
Add in the poor form of German world No 1 Angelique Kerber and Spain’s defending champion Garbine Muguruza and an ankle injury for new title favourite Simona Halep of Romania and the claycourt slam looks wide open.
Shriver feels Venus could be the one to take advantage despite only having two quarterfinal runs in Paris since losing to Serena in her only French Open final in 2002.
“I think there are so many possibilities in the works,” Shriver told a conference call hosted by broadcaster ESPN.
“I’ve seen some draws that are wide open on the women’s side but I’ve never seen a situation like this.
“Venus coming off what she did at the Australian Open getting to her first grand slam final since she knew she had the auto-immune syndrome [Sjogren’s Syndrome] and now knowing that her sister is not in the draw. Can she win it?
“Why not? She is a more capable clay-court player than most people think and when you consider the big hitters that have won in the women’s game, Sharapova twice in the last few years and Muguruza last year, Venus is definitely one of the possibilities.”
Seven-times French Open champion Chris Evert agreed that Venus, who has won seven grand slam titles but none for nearly a decade, stands out as a player who has been there and done it in a field low on proven quality.
“Venus is a very capable claycourt player, she’s won grand slams before and the mental part of the game is going to be very important this year,” Evert said.
Shriver says few other candidates spring to mind.
“Right now, honestly there is no heir apparent, a teenager who seems to have it all,” she said.
“I don’t think we are going to have a dominant player after Serena goes.” roar.com