‘Nadal dictates the laws, Djokovic gives the most respect,’ Coach reflects on the great rivalry ahead of French Open

Rafael Nadal has been on the professional tour for almost two decades and has been blessed with a very good team. One such integral member of his team is former tennis star, Francisco Roig, who has been working with Nadal since 2005, when the Spaniard was yet to win his first Grand Slam.

The 20-time grand slam Champion won the Rome Masters last week ahead of Roland Garros in the presence of his full coaching team. Roig, after the tournament spoke to ATP Tour about various aspects of Nadal’s game. He revealed that despite young guns lighting up the Clay season, Djokovic will still be Nadal’s top rival at Paris.

“Djokovic is still the rival, perhaps, who can cause more problems, along with Tsitsipas, Zverev and Thiem. Of course, if Thiem regains the rhythm and confidence that he usually shows on gravel, I would say that I do not see differences between him and Djokovic,” Roig said.

He further explained Thiem’s abilities and strengths to be a proven match winner on Clay.

“Since he won the US Open he has dropped a bit, but I’m sure that for Roland Garros he will be at the necessary level and will be a very tough opponent. He is a very complete player, who demands a lot in each hit, if you leave the ball a little short, the point is over. On a physical level it is very demanding.”

Francis Roig believes Nadal and Djokovic will still be favorites at Roland Garros

The NextGen superstars have lighten up this year’s Clay season. Stefanos Tsitsipas won the Monte Carlo Masters while Alexander Zverev won at Madrid. But at the last Masters tournament on Clay in Rome, it was old foes Nadal and Djokovic battling it out for the title once again. Roig believes the same could repeat in Paris and counted Nadal and Djokovic as the favorites.

He said: “Despite the passing of the years and the demands of each tour, as I mentioned, the rival who continues to give the most respect is Djokovic and the one who continues to dictate the laws is Nadal.”

“In the [ATP] Masters 1000 it has been distributed more, it is obvious that they are getting closer and closer, but in the Grand Slam, in five-set matches, I continue to see them as favorites.”

Nadal will directly be seen in action at the French Open now while Djokovic will play the ATP 250 event in Belgrade next week.

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