The attack failed thirteen times, dozens of tennis players have tried in vain, and this time, too, a long collective sigh can be heard from the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Who could snatch the massive silver bowl, the Coupe des Mousquetaires, at the end of the two-week tournament? Probably “our Spanish friend”, prophesied the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. In any case, he would be amazed if his old friend Rafael Nadal did not show himself in great shape again.
Alexander Zverev, 24, would also bet on the all-time winner, because “he played on clay at a completely different level”. For the Austrian Dominic Thiem, 27, a match against Nadal on the center court of the French Open is the most difficult task imaginable, and not only in tennis, but “probably in general in sport”. Hardly anyone can pass this judgment with greater credibility than the unfortunate Thiem, who was defeated as a defeated final opponent (2018, 2019) in two of Nadal’s 13 triumphs since 2005.
—Art in Roland Garros: the new Nadal statue in honor of the series winner
(Photo: Antonio Borga / HMB / IMago)
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The prestigious French tournament starts again this Sunday. And again, the competition will work off the 34-year-old Nadal, who actually only lost two of 102 games in Paris. And to which the organizers have now erected a monument on the facility while they were still active: a three-meter-high, silvery, shiny image made of steel. This time, however, his most important younger challengers are assisted by the luck of fate, as they see with relief; when it comes to the monumental Spaniard, one finally accepts any help.
Because when the 128 players were drawn, the following picture emerged: In the upper half of the tableau, the three best tennis professionals of the decade are gathered, alongside Rafael Nadal (20 degree slam title), the Swiss Roger Federer (20 titles) and Novak Djokovic from Serbia (18 titles). Only one of them can make it to the final, so they’ll have to get each other out of the way to play for the title. Much to the delight of the players from the lower half of the main field, which includes Tsitsipas, Zverev and Thiem; the Austrian is the only one from the trio to have a Grand Slam trophy. Seldom has the road to the toppling of a monument been smoother in recent years. “Finally!” Is how Tsitsipas summarized the luck of the draw in the opening press conference.
Zverev starts against Oscar Otte from Cologne
Tsitsipas, number five in the world, is in brilliant shape after two season titles on clay, in Monte Carlo and Lyon. Above all, he has now developed a playful consistency at a high level over a long period of time, which is particularly pleasing to him; also in Barcelona he only lost to Nadal in the final. Nevertheless, before the first Paris match against French Jérémy Chardy, he does not like publicly as the favorite. He said it would be better if he only turned out to be the “surprise of the tournament” at the end.
Alexander Zverev will meet Oscar Otte from Cologne in a German duel on Sunday. Even before the first rally, he was bluntly proclaimed a candidate for his first Grand Slam title by his older brother. “Sascha will reach the final, and anything can happen there,” said Mischa Zverev, an expert on site for the Eurosport broadcaster: “He can win Roland Garros, I firmly believe in that and I hope he will make it.” The younger Zverev, sixth in the ranking, has also taken a step on the red ash places. Most recently, he shone with the tournament victory at the Masters in Madrid, for which a lengthy adjustment process was necessary, as he described on Friday: “Sand is a surface on which you have to play well for weeks to have a chance at the Grand Slam.” The switch to grass or hard courts is much faster in comparison. To get the title on sand, he said, you have to be “in top shape”.
In Madrid, in his second tournament win of the year, Zverev defeated Thiem and Nadal one after the other. But he warned against making predictions for the French Open from this fact: “I’ve already won against most of the players on clay,” he said. “But in Paris on the sand, Nadal is another level.” Because it’s not about a match. But about the fall of the monument.
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