Play or injury, the European clay court tour has seen so many ups and downs among tennis greats that the edition of Roland Garros (May 26-June 9) It was presented as the most open in recent years. This Thursday (2:00 pm) the draw will be held that will determine the route of all tennis players with loose names on the dangerous drum: Rafael Nadal.
After months of dealing with physical problems and finding a competitive level, the Balearic player, 14-time champion in Parisentered the registration list with a protected rank before his injury (9th), a position that guaranteed him access to the main draw without going through the previous stage, but did not allow him to be one of the 32 seeds.
In practice, this means that Nadal can be paired with any of the other 127 tennis players in the draw, just like any other unseeded tennis player. However, it happens that Rafa’s shadow is so long in Paris that wherever he falls he will create a significant disturbance, although it is too early to know the exact level he can reach at Roland Garros.
Anyway, anyone want to match Nadal in the first round of Roland Garros? Not to say unanimously, the almost unanimous answer should be clear: no, no one wants to see the manacorí either in the first round or near his path.
“When we talk about Roland Garros and Rafa Nadal is there, for me he is always the favorite,” he said. Novak Djokovic, the defending champion. “Obviously, this year is a little different with his level of play, but it is Roland Garros and it is Nadal and, with the respect we owe him, it is normal to place him as a favorite,” explained the Serbian.
With 14 titles and 112 wins in 115 games played, the weight of history Nadal-Roland Garros So much so that, although the Spaniard is now more focused on recovering his competitive level, rivals will always consider him in Paris both for the works seen in recent years and to remove some pressure on their own backs.
Djokovic admitted that the Roland Garros tournament was “more open this year”, a general opinion in the tennis world due to the physical problems faced by some world figures, such as the aforementioned Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz either Jannik Sinneralthough all sent positive signals after their first training sessions in Paris.
“Casper Ruud He is certainly one of five players who are candidates for victory. We have too Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, all players who have won a major tournament on this surface this year. And, then, maybe I, if I feel good. At Roland Garros and everything Grand Slams“I’m a little different player,” added Djokovic, who will try to raise his ‘great’ record to 25 in Paris.
The only thing you know for sure ‘No’ is that Sinner (2nd) is only found in a hypothetical final. The draw will determine whether Alcaraz (3rd) sides with the Serbian or the Italian eyeing a hypothetical semi-final, as the Murcian knows he can only meet Alexander Zverev (4th) in the final.
Favourites, covered and all will be in attendance at today’s draw, with the women’s draw featuring the Polish Iga Swiatek and the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in their first two seeds and top favorites for the title.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
