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The race for the French Open crown isn’t just about confidence. Rafael Nadal may not have gotten much of this out of the Rome to Paris dress rehearsal. He lost in the quarterfinals to Argentine Diego Schwartzman, in a humid afternoon session, where the balls bounce less quickly and higher and the dreaded super topspin of the Spanish castrated.
This is exactly where danger lurks in Paris. Due to the crown, the tournament will take place in the cool and humid fall rather than, as usual, early summer. The consistency of the Sand King remains to be seen. One thing is for sure: The 34-year-old is tireless in five-set fights at the Bois de Boulogne. His fighting spirit has led him to the title twelve times. With this backpack, Nadal will also be the man to beat at the Sand Grand Slam in 2020.
Djokovic will be Rekorde
Especially for Novak Djokovic, who was already eager for a direct comparison to Nadal in Rome. This did not happen, but the Serbian still scored points in the distance duel: he won his 36th Masters 1000 title – his 81st title overall – and surpassed the Majorcan (35) in the balance of the most valuable ATP tournaments. These records are what propel the «Djoker» to reach its maximum performance. Like the race for most weeks at the top of the world rankings. He’s 287 weeks old, still wants at least 23, to break Roger Federer’s record (310).
Djokovic’s collection of Grand Slam titles is as follows. He’s 17 and wants at least 21 to beat record holder Federer here too. Since Djokovic was delayed on this mission by disqualification at the US Open, he is pushing himself even harder for the French Open victory. And everyone knows what that means with the “mental monster” …
Thiem with tailwind
Clear duel between the two greatest, then? If it weren’t for Dominic Thiem! In the absence of the third of the great protagonists, the Swiss maestro, Parisian finalist for the last two years, forms a new trio of the so-called “Big 3”. At the US Open, the 27-year-old Austrian stood out from the next generation, including Alexander Zverev (De), Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gr), Daniil Medwedew (Russ) and others. And the former players of the small elite group, such as Stan Wawrinka or Andy Murray, who have to duel in the first round, only serve for surprises.
And after fully savoring the taste of success in New York, Thiem is guaranteed to want more. Especially in the sand, where he was twice as close. Only 725 points are missing from the ranking to number 2, Nadal. With another 800 points for the big title in Paris, which Thiem could claim after last year’s final, he would move closer to the tennis throne. His challenge is: “I want to take advantage of the tailwind of the US Open title in Paris.”
Frauenfeld cleared
As narrow as the field of favorites for men is theoretically, it is once again open to women. Missing last year’s winner and world number 1 Ashleigh Barty (Aus), as are the top three ten players Naomi Osaka (Japan, WTA 2), Bianca Andreescu (Ka, WTA 7) and Swiss leader Belinda Bencic (WTA 10). World number two and 2018 Roland Garros winner Simona Halep is the first candidate for victory. Unhappy from the Swiss point of view: Jil Teichmann of all people would meet the Romanian in round 2.
Formally strong former big winners Garbine Muguruza (Sp) and Victoria Azarenka (Wruss.) Should also be expected, as well as evergreen Serena Williams, who still has her 24th Grand Slam win and thus Margaret Court record. wants to break.
So it comes down to a lot of fame and honor at this French Corona Fête, which is expected to take place in front of a maximum of 1000 viewers per day, which can be seen live on Eurosport every day starting on Sunday. Prize money will not be paid out as much this year as in other years. 18 million euros in total, 1.6 million for the individual champions, one million less than at the US Open.
