French Open Tennis - Men`s Singles Contenders

The French Open at Roland Garros is on the horizon, even though there is still one warm-up tournament still to be played in Rome ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season. How are the major contenders for the men’s singles looking ahead of this major tournament? Let’s take a look:

Rafael Nadal

The Spaniard and self-styled ‘King of Clay’ has had one of the worst clay court seasons in his entire career. Well, probably the worst. However, Nadal’s worst season would still be pretty decent for anyone else. Despite some humbling losses to compatriots David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro, and struggling in the Madrid final against Kei Nishikori, Nadal still picked up another clay title in Madrid, and will be incredibly tough to stop in Paris, where he has only ever lost one match.

Novak Djokovic

The Serbian’s progress has been halted by a wrist injury, but he is ready to return in Rome. Realistically, if Nadal plays anything like his best in Paris, he is the only player remotely likely to stop him. But obviously his preparation for Roland Garros has been far from ideal, so all eyes will be on how he fares in Rome.

Roger Federer

The Swiss legend has taken a short break from the tour in order to support his wife as she delivered her second set of twins! But Federer will be back in Rome, and looking to back up his win over Djokovic in Monte Carlo, where he was beaten by compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. Unlike to win his second French Open due to his hoodoo against Nadal on red clay, he will nevertheless be tough to beat for anyone else in the draw.

Stanislas Wawrinka

Winner at Monte Carlo and newly crowned Grand Slam champion, Wawrinka is enjoying the best period of his career as he begins to genuinely believe that he can beat some of the world’s best players. Wawrinka has yet to attain the consistency that is associated with the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, but he is playing some excellent tennis, and is rated roughly as likely as Federer to win the French Open with the bookmakers.

Andy Murray

The Wimbledon champion of 2013 is clearly struggling a little without the input of former coach Ivan Lendl. Clay has never been Murray’s strongest surface, and the chances of him ever winning a Grand Slam title on clay are somewhere between remote and zero. Realistically, Murray will be looking to perform respectably and gain a little confidence and self-esteem before he begins the grass season and ultimately defends his Wimbledon title.

David Ferrer

The Spaniard finally managed to beat Rafael Nadal on clay for the first time in ten years in Monte Carlo, and he remains one of the doughtiest and most consistent players on the ATP Tour. He really lacks the weapons to regularly beat the very top players in the biggest matches, but no-one will relish drawing him in Paris, where he will have to be scraped off the court in order to be beaten.

Go To bet365

#Ad

13/05/2014     © Frixo 2026