Boris Becker declares Rafael Nadal favourite for 2023 French Open but warns that Novak Djokovic is on his heels
The former World No.1 is backing the 'King of Clay' to win his 15th French Open crown at Roland Garros
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Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Boris Becker
Boris Becker has given his backing to Rafael Nadal and said he expects the 22-time Grand Slam to recover from his injury issues to win his career’s 15th French Open title. The six-time Grand Slam champion also said that Novak Djokovic is very close behind the Spaniard as a contender.
Becker said, “I personally don’t think Novak is thinking about the golden slam. I think he wants to win the 23rd major of his career, which would be the record. The next major is Roland-Garros where, in my eyes, the favourite still is Rafael Nadal. But Novak is on his heels. So let’s see what these two great champions will deliver for us.”
Rafael Nadal picked up an injury at the Australian Open this year. The Spaniard battled on despite this but went out in the second round. The loss meant he was unable to defend his Australian Open crown. He then announced he would be out for up to 6 weeks as he recovers from injury. He has only played four games this year and has lost 3 of them. Nadal is yet to return from his injury layoff.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has had a brilliant start to 2023. The Serbian was returned to Australia for the first time since his 2022 deportation. He started by winning the Adelaide International 1 in the build-up to the Grand Slam in Melbourne. The new World No.1 then picked up an injury before the Australian Open. Despite this, he performed brilliantly at the Rod Laver Arena, coasting into the final having dropped only one set.
He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final to win his 22nd Grand Slam title, equalling Nadal’s tally. The French Open will be exciting as these two legends of the sport vie to take the lead in the all-time Grand Slam titles table.
Related: Boris Becker fancies Andy Murray’s Wimbledon chances after brilliant Qatar Open run
Rafael Nadal pulls out of Indian Wells Masters
Nadal has pulled out of the 2023 Indian Wells Masters tournament as he recovers from a hip injury. This means the 36-year-old has not played since his second-round exit from the Australian Open in January.
The Spaniard was due to return during the Qatar Open or the Dubai Tennis Championships but withdrew from both. He has now withdrawn from the tournament in the USA too. This means that he will have only played four games this calendar year.
The result of his injury layoff is that Nadal may drop out of the top 10 ATP rankings. He is currently World No.8 but will lose 600 points for not participating at Indian Wells. He will fall out of the top 10 for the first time since entering that bracket in 2005.
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Samarth Srivastava
(139 Articles Published)