French Open: Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are the new stars in tennis
He is the kind of meteoric rise the sport craves, and should he achieve what many predict – winning the Coupes des Mousquetaires on the Paris clay court at the age of 19 – he will make headlines around the world.
When the tennis elite come to Paris for the second Grand Slam of the year Rafael Nadal the dominant force in the men’s race, while the outcome in the women’s race is unpredictable. There have been eight different winners in the last 10 years.
The rise of Alcaraz – from No. 141 in the world rankings at the start of last year to sixth place – provides a much-needed alternative to men’s clay court tennis.
The Spaniard has won four ATP titles this year – in Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Miami and Madrid – defeating Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev en route to the title in his country’s capital.
Former and current players have spoken highly of the young Spaniard.
Four-time French Open champion Justine Henine said in an interview with Belgian newspaper Sudinfo last week that Alcaraz was “more complete” than Nadal, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, while Zverev described him as the best player “in the world at the moment”.
“He’s definitely special,” Djokovic told reporters, while Nadal admitted his compatriot can beat anyone.
A new king for the clay court?
High praise leads to high expectations. But of course there are giants standing in Alcaraz’s way to his first Grand Slam title.
Nadal, the “King of the Clay”, has been virtually unbeatable on the red surface since winning the first of his 13 titles at Roland Garos at the age of 19. There is no better clay court player in the history of the sport.
But Nadal, who would win his 22nd consecutive major title with a victory in Paris, is suffering from a foot injury and is more vulnerable than ever. Unless he withdraws late, Nadal’s fight for his 14th French Open title against Australian Jordan Thompson will begin.
Djokovic is the defending champion and will try to equal Nadal on 21 Grand Slams. The Serb is the world number one and recently won his first title of the season in Rome, looking to play in form at the right time.
But others could also come into question. Danill Medvedev has moved close to Djokovic’s No. 1 spot in the world rankings, but the Russian has missed the entire clay court season so far. And the ATP’s “Next Gen” stars, Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipasas, must soon start fulfilling their promise at Grand Slams.
Women’s clay court on a different level
Iga Swiatek’s form has made women’s tennis a little more predictable.
The world number one is on a 28-match winning streak and should she win the French Open a second time, she would equal Venus Williams’ record of 35 consecutive victories from this millennium.
A victory in the French capital would also make the Pole the first woman to win six tournaments in a row since Justine Henin did so in 2007-2008.
In her nine clay court matches this season, the 20-year-old Swiatek has only dropped one set. There hasn’t been a pre-tournament favorite like this since, well, a fully fit Nadal.
“The pressure is constantly high,” Swiatek told reporters recently at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. “It’s not like I analyze it every week because that would tire me out quite a bit.”
The Polish star is doing his best to prepare for the stress that inevitably comes with reaching the pinnacle of the sport, traveling with psychologist Daria Abramowicz, the PA Media said: “We as a team and of course Iga himself have put in a lot of work to be able to deal with success properly when it comes.
“Creating and managing a healthy and sustainable career is a major challenge for almost everyone in elite sports today, especially in the age of social media, mobile devices and other pressures.”
Swiatek’s rise has contributed to the loss of the extremely talented Ash Barty, who withdrew from sport this year.
And Simona Halep, a former world champion who loves the clay court, should not be underestimated either.
Twelve months after hers Withdrawal from the tournament After being fined for failing to appear at previous post-match press conferences, Naomi Osaka could feature in Paris. Although she is not seeded, the four-time major winner should not be underestimated.
As with the ATP, the biggest names in the WTA have not appeared recently. This could be the Grand Slam tournament where the future of tennis becomes clearer.
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Those: edition.cnn.com
2024-01-03 01:10:56
#French #Open #Carlos #Alcaraz #Iga #Swiatek #stars #tennis
