Novak Djokovic favorite over Rafael Nadal at French Open? No trash talk!
Don't let trash talk debates in tennis circles distract you from the fact that Novak Djokovic is a big favorite at the upcoming Roland Garros.
Follow Us
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Trash talk in tennis is trending. No, one is not talking just about what Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff have to say on encouraging loose talk or flippant stuff on the sport. Coming to a more serious talk of what lies in store ahead in the clay court tennis season, the debate has been truly shaken and stirred.
Sample these two things: Rafael Nadal is a topic of discussion as he has delayed his return to tennis and Monte Carlo is now off the radar. Everyone has an opinion on the Spaniard, good, bad, and ugly. From chronic fans to Uncle Toni Nadal, we are made to believe Rafa can just walk into Paris and stake his claim for one more title. Owning 22 Grand Slam singles titles, 14 of them at the French Open, he has that aura of invincibility.
This time, there appears to be a difference. Mainly because injuries are chasing Rafa like a fly. The more posts one sees from Rafa on social media, the intrigue increases. Where does that leave fans with a “favorites list” in the season ahead. Carlos Alcaraz has fitness issues, again. Danil Medvedev almost seems to think surface speed and ball speed go against him deliberately, even on hard courts.
When players go into the clay season, mentally, they have to get tougher. There will be no quick points, instead, there will be longer rallies. Aces may come down, unless you crank up the serve even further. So, theoretically, Medvedev does not go into the clay season as a favorite. In the good old days, there were any number of clay court specialists.
Spaniards and their affinity for Clay
Plenty of them came from Spain, with surnames like Ferrer or Ferrero. You also had someone like Carlos Moya whose dominance on clay was mind-blowing. Yet. this generation may have forgotten an Austrian who ruled Clay with authority. Thomas Muster, an Austrian who loved just tennis on clay, was the master. His run in the clay season in the nineties was supreme, something like 46-3 in 1996.
Well before Rafael Nadal or Moya had become kings on clay, Muster was the master. The rare or freakish thing about his dominance on the slow surface was he could win plenty of matches. Yet, despite becoming World No.1 he won only one Grand Slam title, the French Open in 1995. That was against Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Those days, the mention of Russia and tennis had nothing to do with the war, it was only about the war on the tennis courts.
For the record, Muster had met with a horrific car crash in Miami in 1989, where the damage to his knee was exhaustive. He was not at fault at all and his knee reconstruction surgery in Austria was done so well, his return to tennis was pretty much a miracle. In this summer of 2023, tennis writers and players, many are talking of war — Russia versus Ukraine. Sport does not need this trash talk, really.
Yet, if one comes to the topic of more serious trash talk, Rafael Nadal fans will scoff at the chances of Novak Djokovic winning on clay. Being No.1 on the ATP charts even without playing in the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, Novak evokes that Mama Mia expression! How he has done it, only he knows.
Tennis breaks have been forced on Novak.
No more ‘Trash Talk’ hopefully gets in the way of Novak Djokovic
Hopefully, this break will be the last, wherein he will no longer face travel restrictions. Whether this break was good or bad for Novak is debatable. You could be dead sure, the Serbian will be fresh, refueled, and ready to grind out more winners. Yes, he is a master on hard courts. If you go through his collection of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, it’s the AO that he has dominated.
He loves Wimbledon as well, though connoisseurs of French wine and French cuisine may say Novak Djokovic is not suited for Roland Garros. This is the big deal, right now. If one goes through odds on betting sites, Novak is not the favorite for the French Open. Only those who follow betting odds with clarity will agree their predictions are bang on target.
After all, when Novak’s coach Goran Ivanisevic won his only Wimbledon title in 2001, as a wild card entrant, the odds on betting tills were something 1000-1 for Goran. Yet, the Crazy Croat did it. Today, if something like this is discussed, it will be trash talk. Oh, then how about Novak winning the French Open? Trash talk? Yes and no. It’s not as if Novak does not have the patience. In fact, he tests the opponents’ patience.
Mentally, Djokovic can psyche out opponents, unless Rafa is at his peak. The problem is, given Rafa’s free fall in rankings, he could potentially have a dangerous draw in Paris. That is if he comes there fully ready. That seems to be the aim, rather than the goal. Back to odds, it may not be considered odd that Novak can actually go the full distance in Paris in 2023 for many reasons.
There are not too many guys who are really in The Zone, to take on the Serbian champion. If Novak could win in Melbourne this January his 22nd Grand Slam title, with that hurting hamstring, he will be a refurbished threat on clay. He does not need to play too many warm-up events. Just fine-tune his game a bit, which is essential for clay.
The anti-vaccine stuff is now trash talk, really. It is no longer an issue. So, forget the odds, as World No.1, hopefully till the French Open as well, Novak will be best placed theoretically in Paris. His fitness is a vital ingredient in his game. And when he has to turn from a middle-distance runner to a half-marathon runner over five sets, Novak Djokovic can be dangerous.
Trash talk? Not really!
Continue Reading:
- Rafael Nadal was ‘Embarrassed’ by Roger Federer off the court at the 2005 Wimbledon weeks after their French Open meeting
- Naomi Osaka confident of returning at Australian Open next year, eyes eight more Majors and Gold at Olympics
Stay Updated!
S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)