Can anyone stop Nadal winning his 10th French Open title! Here are my top 5 contenders!
So as round 1 of the French Open gets underway today everyone is asking the same question. Is anyone good enough to stop Rafael Nadal winning a 10th title at Roland Garros?
So far Nadal has had a tremendous start to the 2017 season getting to the final of the Australian Open and winning three clay court titles. He is ominously looking back to his best on clay playing with the fiery passion we are used to seeing from the Spaniard! I, and I think many others have wondered if his best days were behind him as he has not won a Grand Slam title in two years! Of course he has been plagued with injury but his overall confidence over the last two seasons has seemed muted and strangely lacking. The one thing however Nadal never does is give up, and to have come back this year so strong shows there’s plenty more left in the tank!
I think getting so close to winning the Australian Open has given him the belief that he can still challenge at the very highest level. It seems to have kicked him back into the bullish Nadal we have seen terrorize other opponents over the years! With Roger Federer pulling out of the tournament this year, the top 5 contenders I feel have a chance of troubling Nadal are as follows.
1. Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem is definitely looking like a future Grand Slam champion on clay the way he has been playing. He has only won one title this year at the Rio Open but he has looked very efficient at the other clay tournaments. He has had to put up with finishing runner up to Nadal both at the Barcelona and Madrid finals. However he managed to beat Nadal on clay in the quarter finals of the Italian Open a little over a week ago. The problem was he then got convincingly beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals and they may have to play each other again in the quarter finals at Roland Garros. It is yet to be seen if he can keep his high quality tennis going over a Grand Slam tournament as the draw he is in will mean he will have to play the very best in successive matches. He would meet Nadal in the semis if he did get there and I could then easily see that being a contender for match of the tournament.
2. Novak Djokovic
Djokovic like Andy Murray has strangely struggled with his form since winning The French Open Grand Slam last year. He was playing at a super human level at the time and I think it was evident at Wimbledon that he was physically, emotionally and mentally burnt out!
He recently parted with his team which he has had for many years and now he has brought in Andre Agassi to aid him in this tournament. He has won one title this year in Doha but since then has looked the shadow of the player he has been. With Agassi in his corner this may be the kick he needs to bring out his best tennis again and defend his title.
3. Stan Wawrinka
Stan the man yesterday won his first title of the year defending his Geneva Open title against Mischa Zverev. It is the perfect boost to his confidence after knocking out some decent players on the way. You do wonder however if this extra week may take its toll on him if he progresses to the latter stages of the French open. He is a player on his day that can be ruthless with vicious single backhands and strong forehands when he gets into a rhythm. He is already a past French Open Grand Slam champion so he knows what to do to win on this surface. In winning the Geneva Open, the Swiss player may have hit form just at the right time.
4. Andy Murray
Murray is still the number 1 player in the world but he has had an absolute shocker of a season so far! After an incredible run last year he has really badly struggled to find any kind of form that you’d expect from the best ranked player. He has admitted that his motivation has slightly dropped and it is clear to see he is desperately struggling with confidence. Maybe last season completely took it out of him physically and mentally and he’s just not been able to raise his level to where it was. Maybe the pressure of being number 1 in the world is affecting the small things in his game which is making a big difference to his results. Whatever it is, it’s hard to see how it’s going to get much better in this tournament. He has never won the French Open before although he was runner up last year, but his form was vastly better then compared to what it is now! Even with Lendl in his corner I think a quarter final match is probably going to be about as far as he gets this year.
5. Alexander Zeverev
Alexander Zeverev looks like he is a player with a bright future in the game. Although his name might not spring to most people’s mind when you think about a player that will win the French Open he has indeed proved he is not to be underestimated. The German has won three titles so far this year including two on clay, so it is a surface that he is comfortable on. Also beating Djokovic in the Italian Open final last week shows that he can handle the pressure of a final. Ok Djokovic wasn’t playing well in that final but Zeverev played his game well and did what he had to do very efficiently! Can he do it at a Grand Slam tournament or will the inexperience show, it’s going to be hard for him especially with the quality of opposition but he could be one that surprises a few people!
So what do other people think? Do you agree with my top 5, have I missed anyone out? Let me know with a comment.
Thanks all and enjoy the tournament!