It seems as though there are two men’s singles tournaments at Roland Garros this year.
The men’s singles championship and the tournament to determine who will finish second to Rafael Nadal.
Nadal is about as an overwhelming a favorite as there has ever been in Paris as he seeks his 11th title at Roland Garros, more than any man has ever won at any single Grand Slam tournament. He has lost only twice at Roland Garros since his debut in 2005. His first loss came at the hands of Robin Soderling in the round of 16 in 2009. Luckily for Rafa, Soderling is no longer an active player on the tour but the other man to beat him, Novak Djokovic, is and is still alive in the tournament.
Djokovic, who beat Nadal in the quarterfinals in 2015, has always been the biggest threat to Nadal. In fact, 19 percent of Nadal’s career losses on clay have come by the hands of Djokovic. However, since Djokovic won the French singles title in 2016 to complete his career Grand Slam, he has not been the same player, not being able to win a major singles title and struggling with injuries, confidence and motivation. While seeded No. 20, he has seen a return to some of his top 3-ranking form of late, reaching the semifinals of the Italian Championships entering the French Championships and having a nice run of victories into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. He is on the opposite half of the draw as Nadal and they could reprise another French Open final by week’s end, like they did in 2012 and 2014. He has taken notice of fans of 888Sport.
Two-time French Open champion Jim Courier once said that Juan Martin del Potro would be the biggest threat to Nadal’s dominance on clay and at Roland Garros due to his powerful groundstrokes that can overpower Nadal. Del Potro did this mercilessly to Nadal in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open on a hard court, winning by an incredible 62 62 62 scoreline en route to the title. However, this was nine years ago and del Potro has struggled with multiple wrist injuries that has mostly affected his two-handed backhand, but his forehand is still one of the best in the sport, on par with Nadal’s forehand. The two could meet in the semifinals that would be an incredible contest.
Other outside contenders include No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, who won in Madrid and reached the final of Rome leading into Roland Garros. Zverev is into a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time and has had to win three five-set matches to reach the Final 8. Dominic Thiem is the only player to beat Nadal on clay this year, doing so in Madrid, and he has a lot of attention from those interested in Roland Garros betting based on this win – and two others – against Nadal on clay and the fact that he has reached the semifinals in Paris the last two years.
