‘Djokovic will be very, very motivated in Paris,’ Wolfgang Thiem warns Nadal ahead of the French Open
Follow Us
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Second grand slam of the year, The French Open is round the corner and the build up to it has been very exciting. Many NextGen stars have emerged victorious this season while proven match winners have showcased their metal too.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been the most successful player this Clay season, with titles in Monte Carlo and Lyon, and a final in Barcelona. Alexander Zverev won the Madrid Masters while Capser Ruud won in Geneva and reached the semifinals at Monte Carlo, Madrid and Munich. But amidst the rise of the NextGen, old foes Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic displayed their class too. Both Nadal and Djokovic played the final in Rome with the former winning the title. He also won in Barcelona last month.
Nadal will directly play the French Open while Djokovic will play the ATP 250 home event in Belgrade this week. As for the French Open, the two legends of the game will start favorites despite tremendous tennis played by the NextGen stars for the last 2 months.
Thiem considers Nadal to be the favorite at French Open 2021, expects Djokovic to do well
Dominic Thiem‘s father, Wolfgang, made his predictions ahead of the megaevent. He believed that even if Nadal isn’t playing upto the mark, he will start favorite.
Wolfgang said: “ Even if Rafael Nadal has not played as well as in recent years, he remains clearly the favorite to win the title”
Further, he analyzed Djokovic’s mentality. He said that nervousness is a good sign for the 18-time grand slam champion, and added that his ultimate goal will be to get past Nadal and Federer. He thinks that Djokovic’s motivation maybe a threat to Nadal.
“When Djokovic is nervous as he was during the final in Rome, that is a good sign for him. This means that he is in his ‘element’, in his ‘bubble’. His ultimate goal is to get Federer and Nadal on the Grand Slam tournament charts. He will be very, very motivated in Paris,” he said.
Also read: French Open 2021: Top 5 Players to Watch Out For
Stay Updated!
Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)