ATP FRENCH OPEN
May 26th – June 9th
Carlos Alcaraz 11/5
Novak Djokovic @ 27/10
Alexander Zverev @ 13/2
Jannik Sinner @ 4/1
Casper Ruud @ 11/1
Stefanos Tsitsipas @ 15/2
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With the current tennis swing about to reach its final destination at the French Open, the ATP and WTA divisions are displaying contrasting shades of clay.
In the men’s game, just as the transition from the Big Three Era into the Sinner/Alcaraz Axis seemed to be progressing seamlessly, injuries have disrupted the changing of the guard; the freshly-moulded clay vase has begun to wobble and distort upon the potter’s wheel.
Jannik Sinner (hip) and Carlos Alcaraz (forearm) look set to make the journey to Roland Garros, but having not played competitively since May 1st, at the Madrid Open,a baguette-sized question mark is hovering over their ability to mount a serious challenge at a gruelling two-week Grand Slam.
The King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, will also head to Paris with expectations diminished. The mind of the 14-times champion still seems to up for the rigours of elite battle; but his body is struggling to translate this iron drive into decisive winners.
‘A baguette-sized question mark is hovering over their ability to mount a serious challenge at a gruelling two-week Grand Slam.’
Early, ignominious defeats in Barcelona and Rome suggest that the Majorcan may well be lining-up his changeover water bottles with advanced, geometric precision for the very last time; some 19 years after his first extraordinary foray on the Parisian dirt.
It has been an unconvincing few months for fellow Big Three stalwart, Novak Djokovic, too. A defeated finalist in Monte Carlo, the Serbian megatron crashed-out in the third round in Rome and was scrabbling around for answers to explain his poor performance. Was a fan’s errant water bottle that landed plumb on his crown really to blame? Perhaps, to some extent, Djokovic is simply missing ‘the war’; missing playing against his greatest rivals – the greatest players of all time – on the greatest stages?
Perhaps he also now knows, with Nadal on the cusp of retirement, that all his extraordinary records are safe; and that he can finally take his foot off the gas?
Can he somehow re-find his old, unrivalled intensity? Can anyone else step into the opening void and make sense of the murky, dark picture we see before us? If this really is the most open men’s Grand Slam draw in years, then who is best placed to take advantage?
Most likely Alexander Zverev, who possesses a power game and level of experience that should see him venture far towards the trophy. There is just one little problem here, however: he has drawn Rafael Nadal in the very first round. As the champion in Rome, Zverev will be the favourite to progress and build momentum. But Nadal is unlikely to accept the likelihood of a first round defeat at his second home without one hell of a fight…and gallons and gallons of sweat.
‘There is just one little problem here, however: he has drawn Rafael Nadal in the very first round.’
The women’s division presents a much lighter, clearer work of clay to interpret. Iga Świątek arrives as a very strong favourite to land what would be her fourth French Open title in five years. She is also looking to become only the second player since Serena Williams in 2013 to win the clay court titles in Madrid, Rome, and Paris in a single season.
Aryna Sabalenka, the world #2, is her nearest challenger; but was a defeated finalist in Madrid (where it was close) and also in Rome (where it was not); and the Roland Garros clay has much more in common with the latter than the former.
Earlier than expected challenges could come in the shape of Naomi Osaka in Round 2, and Danielle Collins – who has a Grand Slam victory over the Pole – in the Quarter-Finals; but Świątek’s form is currently so regal it is difficult to see this being anything other than a stately procession towards glory.
So if Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay, really is about to abdicate the throne…then maybe it’s time we all got together and let out a collective cry of ‘Long Live The Queen!’
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