Clay Court season is approaching very fast with Roland Garros just around the corner, which means a major title is up for grabs, and the dying question is, who will take the title and glory?
The top ten on the men’s side is always changing, with most recently Jannik Sinner moving up to number 3 after winning the Australian Open. With that being said, many players are considered clay court specialists who need to be watched out for with Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal, a clay court specialist, has struggled with injuries in the past but has recently pulled out of many of the major tournaments, such as the Australian Open, with his most recent being the Qatar Open. It is thought that Nadal is pulling out of these tournaments to not only heal but also to get ready for the French Open in May.
The 37-year-old Nadal made his debut at the French Open in 2005 and has since become the record holder by winning 14 French Open singles titles.
Novak Djokovic holds the ATP ranking of world number 1, making him the person to watch. Djokovic holds three French Open singles titles and 16 clay court Masters titles. He is one of two people to ever beat Nadal at Roland Garros and the only person to beat Nadal twice.
There are so many more players to look out for, such as Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and newcomer Jannik Sinner. All of these men are looking to grab the title and never back down on a big fight. Alcaraz has only won 2 out of the 5 times he has met Djokovic, with one of those losses being in the 2023 semifinals at Roland Garros.
Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev is looking for a title at Roland Garros after a career-threatening injury in 2022 that took him out for the end of the season and half of the 2023 season. Zverev returned to the 2023 French Open with hopes of playing just as well as he did before. He exceeded expectations and made it into the semifinals, where he faced Casper Ruud. Although he lost, he put up a tough fight at the 2023 French Open.
Each of these players has unique reasons why they could be the next title winner at Roland Garros; their hard work and dedication could be the determining factor in who wins the major. The obvious choice based on the statistics from past tournaments would be Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic is predicted to be one of the two players in the finals, but that leaves one remaining spot open in the finals.
Although Nadal has been a great clay court player since his injury first arose, there have been more issues brought to the public, making it hard to believe he could be a player to grab the second spot in the finals. The 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz would be predicted to be in the finals as well based on his number two ranking, but in the most recent tournaments, he has lost in the quarterfinals and semifinals compared to the 2023 season, when he stole six master titles, one of them including Wimbledon. He also won the Madrid Open in 2023, which was played on a clay surface.
Daniil Medvedev is a hard court specialist, which makes it hard to believe he would be the one to win the French Open. In the 2023 French Open Medvedev lost the first round in a 5-setter compared to the 2022 French Open when he made it to round 4. The odds that he makes it to the finals are slimmer than those of others on this list. He will more than likely make it to the round of 16 before he is knocked out of the tournament.
After the long battle with his injury, it can be predicted that Zverev could be the one to face Djokovic in the final. Since 2021, Zverev has been spotted in the semifinals at Roland Garros. Zverev has won multiple clay court tournaments, such as the Madrid Open in 2021. This may be his year to break that trend and win the title.
Based on this, it can be predicted that we could see Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in this year’s Roland Garros men’s singles final. Now this is not set in stone, and many things may change based on the drawing, withdrawals, and so many other factors. Overall, the players on this list are must-watch players at this year’s French Open.
