Novak Djokovic told Nadal is still undisputed French Open favourite

Rafael Nadal has been declared the favourite to win the French Open despite being sidelined with an injury. The 36-year-old hasn’t played a match since January but several former pros admitted that the 14-time Roland Garros champion would be the man to beat. It comes as a blow to Novak Djokovic, with both men seeking a record 23rd men’s singles Grand Slam title.

Attention has already turned to the clay season following the conclusion of the Miami Open, with players now heading to Europe to battle it out on the dirt for the next few months. Nadal has made himself synonymous with the surface, with many dubbing him the ‘King of Clay’, and his French Open chances have now been addressed.

While there are still doubts surrounding the Spaniard and his return from injury, three former pros said he was still the favourite for the French Open and always will be. “To me, Rafa is still going to be the one to beat at the French. Until he retires, he’s the one to beat there,” Mary Joe Fernandez told Prime.

The former world No 4 admitted that his record in Paris couldn’t be ignored, adding: “When you’ve won that tournament that many times. We’ve seen some videos of him practising, he’s hitting the heavy forehand.” Tim Henman was in agreement, claiming that he couldn’t “bet against” the 22-time Grand Slam champion at his favourite tournament.

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He responded: “I mean he’s just that good. We often talk about when you come back to an event that you may have one two, three, four, five times but when you think about Rafa, the way he plays, those conditions. Just the confidence that he has. It’s no doubt obviously it’s getting harder and harder for him but I think it would take a very brave person to bet against him.”

And the retired British pro also made an unusual comparison to communicate the scale of Nadal’s achievement at the French Open as he continued: “If you win your monthly medal at your golf club 14 times, that’s an unbelievable achievement. This is a Grand Slam, it’s a joke.”

But their words come as bad news to Djokovic, who has made it no secret that winning the Majors is top of his priority list this season. The Serb drew level with Nadal on the men’s singles Grand Slam record of 22 titles when he won January’s Australian Open, and one of them could pull ahead by winning a 23rd in Paris.

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Fernandez brought up the pre-Big Three men’s Grand Slam record – previously held by Pete Sampras who had 14 – as she continued to laud Nadal’s French Open achievements. “He has as many French Opens as Pete Sampras has Grand Slam titles. I mean, go figure, how is that possible?” she questioned.

A finalist at Roland Garros in 1993, she said that it was the best-of-five set format that made the difference, with most struggling to compete with Nadal over a longer period. “It’s his home, that’s where he feels the best. Best of five sets, it’s a different ball game. To be able to consistently play at that level against Rafa, he’s only lost a couple of times,” Fernandez explained.

Daniela Hantuchova also echoed the sentiment of her fellow former pros, joking that Nadal deserved a bye to the end of the tournament given his dominance on the Parisian clay. She remarked: “I just can’t even imagine his feeling when he gets to the tournament. We felt good when we came back to the tournaments we won two, three times. 14 it’s like, give him the bye all the way.”

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