The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

2018 French Open mega-preview

Spain's Rafael Nadal. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Roar Guru
22nd May, 2018
0

The year’s second Grand Slam tournament gets underway in just under a week from now, and while all eyes will be on Rafael Nadal to see if he can continue to create history at Roland Garros, the women’s division remains as open as ever.

The undisputed King of Clay will start the unbackable favourite to land his 11th French Open crown, having claimed titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome to underline his status as the world’s top-ranked player.

But as always, the Spaniard will face some tough competition, including those from second seed Alexander Zverev, as well as two-time semi-finalist Dominic Thiem and previous champions Stan Wawrinka (2015) and Novak Djokovic (2016).

In the women’s draw, top seed Simona Halep will be hoping to make it third time lucky at Roland Garros after her spectacular choke in last year’s final, which she lost to Jelena Ostapenko despite being up a break in both the second and third sets.

Among the other contenders for the women’s title include the defending champion, Ostapenko, as well as 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza, Australian Open titlist Caroline Wozniacki, recent Rome champion Elina Svitolina and former world number one Karolina Pliskova.

First, let’s take a detailed look at the three players who I think are the main contenders for the men’s title, starting with none other than Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Current world ranking: 1

French Open history
Best result: Won ten times (2005-08, 10-14, 17)
Last year’s result: Won

Advertisement

Australian Open result: Quarter-finals

Titles so far in 2018: Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome.

Without a doubt, the man to beat at Roland Garros is Rafael Nadal.

Since debuting at the tournament in 2005, the Spaniard has made the tournament his own, winning the title ten times, including three times (2008, 2010 and last year) without dropping a set.

After an injury-plagued couple of years, the 31-year-old returned to top form last year, also winning his third US Open title and reclaiming the world number one ranking, which he will carry into the second major of 2018.

Rafael Nadal

Spain’s Rafael Nadal. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Nadal started his season by reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, where he was forced to retire in the fifth set of the match against Marin Cilic after succumbing to a quad injury.

Advertisement

He then sat out the Indian Wells-Miami swing, but regained the world number one ranking after Roger Federer failed to defend his points at both events, where the Swiss (who will again miss the French Open for scheduling reasons) was defending champion.

The Spaniard then briefly lost top spot after losing to Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters, but regained it after a week by defeating Alexander Zverev in three sets to win his eighth title in Rome.

Federer’s one week at top spot during the week of the Rome Masters, from which he was absent as he again bypasses the clay court season, marked the shortest reign by a man at world number one since Pat Rafter’s lone week as the men’s world number one in July 1999.

Nadal’s impressive form throughout the clay court season so far therefore makes him the hottest of favourites to take out the French Open, which if he does will see him become the only man or woman in tennis history to win eleven titles at any one major.

Only two men – Robin Soderling in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015 – have been able to take down the King of Clay at Roland Garros, and only the latter has been able to do so in straight sets.

However, I can’t see anyone handing the Spaniard a third loss in the French capital.

Prediction: Champion

Advertisement

Alexander Zverev (GER)
Current world ranking: 3

French Open history
Best result: Third round (2016)
Last year’s result: First round

Australian Open result: Third round

Titles so far in 2018: Munich, Madrid

While Rafael Nadal remains the man to beat at Roland Garros, the contender to watch out for is second seed and world number three, Alexander Zverev.

The German has claimed two titles so far in 2018, including his third Masters title at the Madrid Masters earlier this month.

However, the majors remains his Achilles heel, having not yet reached a quarter-final at this level and his best showing coming when he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last year, where he lost to Milos Raonic.

Advertisement

He also lost in the first round of the French Open last year, going down to Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco. That came after he won his maiden Masters title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters.

The German has admitted to putting too much pressure on himself to perform well at the majors, but this year’s French Open, where he is seeded second in the absence of Roger Federer, could prove to be his breakthrough.

Alexander Zverev hits a backhand

Alexander Zverev is one of tennis’s hottest talents. (Image: Steven Pisano/ CC BY 2.0)

Last week, Zverev narrowly failed to defend his title in Rome when he went down to Rafael Nadal in the final in three sets; he had led 3-1 in the final set after the pair traded breadsticks, but a rain delay halted his momentum as he suffered his second defeat in a Masters 1000 final.

Despite the loss, the result showed that he could take it up to the Spaniard, having pushed him to five sets in the third round of last year’s Australian Open.

It will now remain to be seen whether the 21-year-old can take his impressive form from Madrid and Rome into the French Open, where he will have no points to defend after having lost in the first round last year.

Prediction: Semi-finals

Advertisement

Dominic Thiem (AUT)
Current world ranking: 8

French Open history
Best result: Semi-finals (2016, 2017)
Last year’s result: Semi-finals

Australian Open result: Fourth round

Title so far in 2018: Buenos Aires

If there’s one man capable of reaching his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, it’s world number eight and two-time French Open semi-finalist Dominic Thiem.

Since his breakthrough at the 2016 tournament, where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, the Austrian has been a top-ten mainstay and despite having not yet reached a major quarter-final outside of Roland Garros, has maintained consistent results on all surfaces since then.

The 24-year-old started his season by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year, before falling to the unfancied Tennys Sandgren in five sets.

Advertisement

He then claimed his ninth career title in Buenos Aires, and after suffering an ankle injury at Indian Wells which forced him to miss Miami, the Austrian returned to form at Monte Carlo, defeating Novak Djokovic before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.

Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem of Austria (6-3, 3-6, 7-6).

However, he was then able to turn the tables on the Spaniard in Madrid, defeating him in the quarter-final stage in straight sets and thus becoming the first man since himself in Rome last year to defeat the King of Clay on his preferred surface, let alone win a set against him.

After losing to Alexander Zverev in the final, Thiem would then drop his first match in Rome, losing to Fabio Fognini in three sets, leaving question marks hovering over his hopes of doing well at Roland Garros, where many rate him as a good chance of reaching his first Grand Slam final.

Doing so would see him better his result of having reached the semi-finals, which he has done in the past two years, losing to the eventual champion on both occasions (Djokovic in 2016 and Nadal last year).

He has been responsible for Nadal’s last two losses on clay – but the question is – can he do it on the red courts of Paris?

Prediction: Final

Advertisement

Also watch out for: Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, Juan Martin del Potro, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka.

Missing: Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Milos Raonic.

We now swing over to the women’s side of things, where Jelena Ostapenko will bear the pressure of being the defending champion, having upset hot favourite Simona Halep in last year’s final.

The 20-year-old, whose French Open title last year also doubled as her first career title, is seeded fifth which means that she could face Halep, the top seed, as early as the quarter-finals.

Jelena Ostapenko Tennis French Open 2017

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia ( The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )

Halep headlines a host of contenders who have the chance to leave Roland Garros with the world number one ranking, the others being Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, 2016 French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, as well as Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Garcia.

Svitolina is seen by many as the favourite for the title having claimed three titles so far in 2018, including last week’s Italian Open in which she thrashed Halep in straight sets in the final.

Advertisement

Wozniacki, meanwhile, will also bear the pressure of entering the French Open as a Grand Slam champion for the first time after having claimed the Australian Open in thrilling fashion earlier this year.

Meanwhile, all eyes will be on three-time champion Serena Williams, who will contest her first major tournament since giving birth to her daughter last September, while two-time champion Maria Sharapova also returns to Roland Garros for the first time since 2015.

The presence of two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will also reunite the one-time “Big Three” at a major tournament for the first time since the 2016 Australian Open.

Let’s now have a look at who I think are the three main contenders for the women’s title at Roland Garros, starting with top seed Simona Halep.

Simona Halep (ROU)
Current world ranking: 1

French Open history
Best result: Final (2014, 2017)
Last year’s result: Final

Australian Open result: Final

Advertisement

Titles so far in 2018: Shenzhen.

If any player is hoping to make it fourth time lucky at Grand Slam level, it’s world number one Simona Halep.

Like many before her, including the likes of Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic, the 26-year-old has become a target of criticism and ridicule for being ranked world number one despite having not yet won a major title.

Despite this, it must be said that while she has lost each of the three major finals she has contested, each time she has been involved in competitive matches, most notably at the Australian Open earlier this year when she pushed Caroline Wozniacki to her absolute limits.

That match has been hailed as one of the greatest Grand Slam women’s finals in recent tennis history, as both Halep or Wozniacki showed their desperation and determination to win their maiden Grand Slam title.

Simona Halep

Simona Halep of Romania (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

To get to that final, Halep had to save several match points in two matches – in the third round against Lauren Davis where the final set lasted 28 games, and in a similarly epic semi-final against Angelique Kerber where the final set went to 9-7.

Advertisement

Since then, Halep has suffered from inconsistent results, losing to Naomi Osaka and Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals at Indian Wells and the third round in Miami respectively.

And of the three major lead-up tournaments to the French Open, the only one where she was able to reach the final was in Rome, where she lost to Elina Svitolina in a repeat of last year’s decider.

However, it was her run to the final in the Italian capital which proved enough for her to enter the French Open with the world number one ranking, which she can keep if she reaches at least the semi-final stage.

Now it remains – will it be fourth time lucky for Simona Halep, or will she again suffer the ultimate heartbreak in another Grand Slam final?

Prediction: Final

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
Current world ranking: 2

French Open history: Quarter-finals (2010, 2017)
Last year’s result: Quarter-finals

Advertisement

Australian Open result: Won

Titles so far in 2018: Australian Open

After an ankle injury suffered in the middle of the 2016 season saw her ranking drop to as low as 74th, many feared that Caroline Wozniacki would never return to the heights that saw her first ascend to the world number one ranking in October 2010.

However, earlier this year, the Dane would recapture her best form to take out her maiden Grand Slam title, defeating Simona Halep in the aforementioned Australian Open final to not only reclaim the world number one ranking but also put all her critics to bed once and for all.

The 27-year-old has not been able to reach a final since, with her best result coming in Doha where she lost to the eventual champion, Petra Kvitova. Her most recent outing saw her go down to Anett Kontaveit in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in Rome.

Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki.(Tatiana / Flickr)

Her record at Roland Garros is also modest, having reached the quarter-finals twice, in 2010 and 2017, losing each time to the eventual champion, Francesca Schiavone and Jelena Ostapenko, respectively.

Advertisement

This will be the first Grand Slam Wozniacki contests as a Grand Slam champion, and it will remain to be seen whether she can adapt to the pressure well.

I believe she can, but I only have her reaching the quarter-finals.

Prediction: Quarter-finals.

Elina Svitolina (UKR)
Current world ranking: 4

French Open history
Best result: Quarter-finals (2015, 2017)
Last year’s result: Quarter-finals

Australian Open result: Quarter-finals

Titles so far in 2018: Brisbane, Dubai, Rome.

Advertisement

One player who has impressed so far in 2018 is world number four Elina Svitolina.

The Ukrainian, already the most successful player from her country, has scooped three titles so far, including the season-opening Brisbane International as well as successful title defences in Dubai and Rome.

The 23-year-old could not have performed better than she did in the Italian capital last week, where she thrashed world number one Simona Halep in the final for the loss of just four games, all in the second set.

That has almost certainly underlined her favouritism for the French Open, though there are a couple of demons she may want to bury if she is to go all the way and win her maiden Grand Slam title.

Of her three quarter-final losses at the majors, two of them came at Roland Garros, albeit to quality opponents in Ana Ivanovic (2015) and Simona Halep (last year). Against Halep, she won the first set and had a match point in the second, but eventually lost in three sets, failing to win a game in the last.

She also reached the last eight of the Australian Open earlier this year, but lost to unheralded Belgian Elise Mertens in straight sets. Many saw that as her best chance to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.

Perhaps her best chance will come at the French Open, where she is seeded fourth. The Ukrainian has the chance to become world number one following the tournament, if and only if she wins the title.

Advertisement

The question remains – can she do it? I believe she can.

Prediction: Champion

Also watch out for: Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Jelena Ostapenko, Caroline Garcia, Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka.

Missing: Cici Bellis, Monica Puig, Agnieszka Radwanska.

The French Open gets underway this Sunday night at 7:00pm AEST.

close