‘He cannot win the French Open,’ Boris Becker believes Federer can’t win at Paris, also calls Rafael Nadal ‘slow’ on clay


‘He cannot win the French Open,’ Boris Becker believes Federer can’t win at Paris, also calls Rafael Nadal ‘slow’ on clay

Roger Federer, Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal

Time and again, Tennis legend Boris Becker is criticized for his blunt and aggressive statements towards the Big 3- especially Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He has often said that the end of the Big 3 is not far away and the NextGen will soon take over.

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Ahead of the French Open, Becker has predicted some tough results for the megaevent. He has straight away ruled out the possibility of Roger Federer winning at Paris this year. He said that Federer has no chance of winning the French Open due to lack of match practice. “Federer cannot win the French Open. He has been injured for a long time and played very little.”

Last year, Becker stated that due to the pandemic the young players have lost one year of a tennis lesson. Whereas the old players will getting time to relax and recuperate. And that eventually puts the Big Three on the victory edge.

Boris Becker believes age is slowing Rafael Nadal down

Who are the players to bagel Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal will turn 35 next month and is a year older that Novak Djokovic, Becker’s former pupil. The 53-year old said that Nadal’s game is getting slower with increasing age and that he gets tired very quickly on court.

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Becker said: “He is 35. He gets tired quicker than before, he is a bit slower.”

This Clay season, Rafael Nadal has won two titles- The Barcelona Open and the Rome Masters and will start as the favorite to win the French Open yet again. Although Nadal’s game has dipped a bit, as evident in Madrid and Monte Carlo.

The Spaniard has been struggling a lot with his backhand topspin and hence has made a lot of unforced errors. He has also struggled with keeping his first serve percentage in check all season. Having said that, he has still managed to defeat the top players in the world. Only time will tell how Nadal and Federer do at the French Open. Can either of them win the Coupe des Mousquetaires or is Becker spitting facts?

Also read: “I don’t like watching Novak Djokovic’s matches,” says former Belgian player who defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2013

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