French Open 2021, men's singles preview: Rafael Nadal favourite, chance for Next Gen to shine
Tennis | May 29, 2021 19:37 ISTThe inevitable question remains - can Nadal beat the odds, once again, to lift an unprecedented 14th on la terre battue?
The inevitable question remains - can Nadal beat the odds, once again, to lift an unprecedented 14th on la terre battue?
Japanese sensation Naomi this week said that she would not face the media at Roland Garros as "people have no regard for athletes' mental health" during press conferences.
The Big Three top the leaderboard for Grand Slam men’s singles titles: Federer and Nadal head to Roland Garros, where play begins Sunday, tied with 20, while Djokovic has 18.
Djokovic is way ahead of the pack with 11,063 points. Russian Daniil Medvedev continues to be ranked No. 2 in the world with 9,793 points, just 163 points ahead of Nadal
The Spaniard recovered from a potentially dangerous fall after tripping over a raised line to take the latest installment of the most-played rivalry in modern men’s tennis.
Nadal kept his time on court to a minimum by ending the surprising clay-court run of big-serving American Reilly Opelka by 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.
Zverev had beaten Nadal in straight sets at the same stage in Madrid a week ago but their latest meeting went the Spaniard’s way from the start.
The Spanish great showed he’s still got the stamina to withstand much younger challengers in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) comeback win over 22-year-old Denis Shapovalov
While Nadal struggled to win 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) in a three-and-a-half hour epic against 13th seed Denis Shapovalov, Djokovic cruised past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-1.
Nadal is set to face Italian sensation Jannik Sinner in his opening match of the Italian Open on Tuesday.
The Italian teenager served for the first set at 6-5 in the Roland Garros quarterfinals and was up a break early in the second. He squandered both opportunities and was eliminated in straight sets.
Zverev defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, picking up his third consecutive win over the 20-time grand slam champion — but first on clay.
Nadal struggled at times against the aggressive style of the 76th-ranked Popyrin but was able to stay in control for most of the match on the Magic Box center court.
Nadal, seeking his sixth title in Madrid and looking to regain top form ahead of the French Open, was never threatened by Alcaraz, who turned 18 on Wednesday.
Nadal roared out to a 5-1 lead before Carreno pulled back a break. Carreno then had three break chances on Nadal’s next service game, but the latter saved them all and closed out the set.
Nadal had to overcome a slow start to defeat Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the clay-court tournament.
Having beaten the 20-time Grand Slam champion on one of his clay strongholds, Rublev's next opponent is unseeded Norwegian Casper Ruud.
Eleven-time Monte Carlo champion Nadal had no problems in his match as he dismissed Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-1 in 55 minutes.
Against Delbonis, an Argentine qualifier, Nadal saved four of the five break points he faced. He will take on Grigor Dimitrov in the next round.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion earlier withdrew from this month's tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands.
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