“He becomes different at the French Open,” Rafael Nadal despite poor form picked as favorite at this year’s Roland Garros by former winner

Rafael Nadal‘s professional career has once again started a downward slope. Having won the 2022 French Open and extending his lead to 22 singles Grand Slam titles, Nadal has not added another one since then. His injury in Wimbledon affected his hardcourt season, including the 2022 US Open.

His wait for the ATP Finals title continued as he made another group-stage exit in Turin at the end of the season. Playing as the defending champion at the 2023 Australian Open, he lost in the second round. He had injured himself yet again during his defeat and has not played on the Tour since then.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has leveled the Spaniard with titles at Wimbledon and Australian Open. As the focus now shifts to French Open where the two greats compete once again, camps are being made on picking the favorite for the 2023 French Open. Amidst this, former World No. 4 Mary Joe Fernandez presented her views. Fernandez won two Majors in Doubles, including the 1996 French Open, while being a three-time singles runner-up in Grand Slam events.

“If Rafa is healthy, I’m still gonna say Rafa. Someone who wins a tournament fourteen times, to me, is the favorite every time they play. Even if they haven’t played all year. So, he becomes a different player on the clay, becomes a different player at the French Open, best of five. That’s the one tournament where I still feel like its gonna be Rafa,” said Fernandez speaking on Patrick McEnroe‘s podcast.

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Rafael Nadal suffered another setback recently

Following the poor outing Down Under, Rafael Nadal is yet to hit the Tour. He was scheduled for gigs in the Middle East in Dubai and Dubai. He however withdrew from those due to injury concerns. While his decision can be smart in terms of staying fit for the Golden Swing. Or else, it might be the signs that this season is going to be a difficult one.

Nadal has had a career that can be represented by a sine graph. Ups and downs have been constant ever since he turned Pro in 2001. His chronic foot injury is going nowhere and other injuries are increasing. Despite this, as Fernandez discussed, one can never rule out the Spaniard. It’s a good reminder that he won last year’s Roland Garros with one foot dead with painkillers.

Nadal usually starts his clay season after the Sunshien Double and expect no change this year as well. With a risk of losing out on a Top-10 spot, a well rested Nadal will definitely be a force to be reckoned with and you can take the liberty of removing the court conditions if he is injury free.

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