Who’s next on clay?…French Open kicks off without Nadal on Aug. 28
‘Who will be the next king of the clay court?
The French Open, the second major tennis tournament of the year, kicks off today (Aug. 28) at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France, for 15 days of action.
This time around, the men’s singles will be a completely different story.
Two of the “big three” who have dominated the men’s game for four and a half decades will be absent.
Roger Federer (SUI) retired last year, and Rafael Nadal (#15-Spain), who has been battling a hip muscle injury since the beginning of the year, has announced his withdrawal from the tournament and his intention to retire next season.
As a result, only Novak Djokovic (No. 3-Serbia) of the Big Three will be competing at the French Open.
It will be the first time in 25 years that the French Open has been played without Federer and Nadal since 1998.
The French Open is especially special for Nadal. In his 18 years at the tournament, Nadal has won 14 titles, been called the “King of Clay” and the “Clay God”. No other player has won as many titles at one of the four majors as Nadal.
The most prominent candidate to succeed Nadal as King of Clay is his fellow Spaniard, World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who has been dubbed the “next Nadal.
He became the youngest player to win back-to-back titles at the Miami Masters and Madrid Masters last year and has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed the Big Three.
He was especially impressive at the Madrid Masters, where he defeated his idols Nadal and Djokovic in straight sets.
This year, Alcaraz has won four ATP Tour titles, including two Masters-level events in Madrid and Indian Wells.
However, in terms of recent momentum, Danil Medvedev (No. 2-Russia) has taken a slight lead over Alcaraz.
Medvedev won his first career clay-court title at the Rome Open, a precursor to the French Open.
In total, he has won five tour events this year. He is especially strong on the big stages, having reached three Masters-level finals and won two.
Medvedev is the 2021 US Open winner. He has always been strong on hard courts, but this year he has improved his game on clay.
The ‘two-headed horse’ of Nordic tennis, Holger Lune (No. 6, Denmark) and Kasper Lund (No. 4, Norway), are also among the favorites.
Lune has emerged as a top-level player at the tender age of 20, combining quick feet and endurance with a powerful serve.
He has won his last two matches against Djokovic in straight sets. However, one of his downsides is that he often gets emotional, arguing with the umpire.
Rudd learned to play tennis at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain.
Like Nadal, he is strong on clay courts. He has won 10 titles on tour, nine of them on clay.
At last year’s tournament, Rood made it all the way to the final and faced off against Nadal, losing 0-3.
Djokovic, who is tied with Nadal for the most career major titles with 22, will be looking to break the record.
Djokovic has been struggling since winning the Australian Open. A problem with his right elbow has prevented him from hitting as many powerful shots as he used to.
In the women’s singles, all eyes will be on world number one and 2020 and last year’s tournament winner, Iga Cibionte (Poland), to win her third career title.토토사이트
Strong server Elena Rybakina (No. 4-Kazakhstan), last year’s Wimbledon winner and this year’s Australian Open runner-up, and Australian Open winner Arina Sabalenka (No. 2-Belarus) will be in a three-way battle with Cibionte.
However, it will be interesting to see how well she is back to full fitness after withdrawing from the Rome Open with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Hong Seong-chan (Sejong City Hall), Han Na-rae (Bucheon City Hall), and Jang Soo-jeong (Daegu City Hall) were the other Korean players to try their luck in the singles, but they were all eliminated in the qualifiers.