The second grand slam of the year gets underway on the 22nd of May in Paris as the best players from across the world descend upon the 20 courts in Roland Garros for the 2022 French Open. With the return of Novak Djokovic, the rise of Carlos Alcaraz, and the resurgence of Rafael Nadal, there is plenty to watch out for over the next two weeks and here is our preview for the French Open.
Carlos Alcaraz has won more ATP titles than any other player in 2022, with the 19-year-old claiming victories in Rio, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid. The Spaniard also has the best win percentage amongst all the players on the men’s tour in 2022, winning an incredible 28 of his 31 matches since the turn of the year.
Three of Carlos’ four titles this season have come on clay, with the headline of Alcaraz’s season coming in his victory in Madrid, where he became the first player since David Nalbandian in 2006 to beat both Nadal and Djokovic back-to-back. The sixth seed went on to beat Alexander Zverev in the final in Madrid, who later described Alcaraz as the best player in the world right now.
Alcaraz is the favourite to knock the big three off their perch at Roland Garros, and after beating Juan Londero in straight sets in round one, the Spaniard is expected to meet either Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic arrives in Paris in 2022 looking to defend his French Open crown, and after winning his first title of the season at the Italian Open in Rome last week, the world number one might be hitting form at the right time. Djokovic has had a turbulent 2022 season so far, punctuated by the fiasco in Melbourne. However, the Serbian has gotten better in every tournament he has played in 2022 and produced some of the best tennis of his career in Roland Garros last year, beating Rafael Nadal in a four-set epic in the semi-final before coming from two sets down to beat Tsitsipas in the final.
Having not been able to win the record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title in Australia earlier this year, there will be extra motivation for Djokovic to match Nadal’s tally in Paris, and the number one seed will start his title defence against Yoshiti Nishioka in the first round.
Rafael Nadal is the undisputed King of Clay, having dominated the French Open for the past 15 years and winning a record-breaking 13 titles in Roland Garros since his debut in 2005. Nadal has a mind-boggling record of 105-3 on the red clay in Paris, but despite his stellar past on Court Phillippe Chatrier, the Spaniard isn’t entering the French Open in his best form.
Although Nadal started the year with his landmark victory at the Australian Open, the number five seed has struggled with injuries since then. Nadal missed out in Barcelona and Monte Carlo due to a rib injury and lost to Dennis Shapovalov in the round of 16 in Rome, where he struggled with his foot injury in the third and final set.
As opposed to his prime, Nadal has looked more mortal on clay in 2022, and with a run to the final that includes Djokovic and potentially Carlos Alcaraz, it’s fair to wonder whether the Spaniard has it in him to pull out one more miracle in Paris.
[Featured Image Credit: Rafael Nadal]
Shivaan Shah