Rafael Nadal

2011 French Open mixed doubles champion Casey Dellacqua thinks Novak Djokovic found his game ahead of the French Open but she still named Rafael Nadal as ...

In the end, Dellacqua was asked directly to name the player who she thinks will win the French Open. And I think once he got that rhythm, you really saw that self-belief. "When I look at Novak, particularly during Rome, he started to hit his forehand really well.

The Spaniard, who'll turn 36 during the French Open, has become the elder statesman tennis desperately needs.

Nadal is also looking to the future, and not necessarily his. After a few days of practice, Nadal took to the court fully aware, he says, that his foot might flare up and he might soon be back in Spain. That includes his physio, Rafael Maymo, a native of Manacor whom Nadal hired in 2006, when Nadal was 20 and Maymo was 26. Like a technician going down to the basement and tinkering, he has added dimensions to his game. In the final, Nadal was the underdog against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, a decade his junior and winner of the previous major. Nadal then won in Acapulco and reeled off five matches in Indian Wells before cracking a rib and losing in the final. He wins more than two-thirds of his tiebreakers and three-fourths of his decisive sets. He was the winner of 20 majors over his gilded career, part of a three-way tie with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the most of all time in men’s tennis. But to the joy of countless fans—not least, those Mallorcan cliff-diving property squatters—Nadal left his island and got back on the road. This might be the most unlikely chapter in the account of his time on court. And when he did play, he was far from peak Nadal. It played a role in preventing him from winning the French Open for an absurd, mind-bending 14th time. And for a while it looked as if the kids of Mallorca would never again have months of free reign on the property.

Rafael Nadal may have a chronic left foot problem and stress fracture in one of his ribs, but none of it appeared to matter in his first match at Roland ...

McEnroe called Djokovic the favorite on a recent Podcast with me. Nadal, who turns 36 on June 3, would need to win six more matches to capture his 14th Roland Garros title and it won’t be easy. He improved to 106-3 at the event.

Rafael Nadal, the 13-time Roland Garros champion, powered to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over Australian Jordan Thompson in the first round at the clay-court Grand ...

However, it was only a minor blip for the 21-time Grand Slam winner, who will be pleased who will be pleased with his first-round outing as he seeks a second major title of the year. Nadal struck 27 winners to Thompson’s 14, a sign of his baseline dominance, but the Spaniard was also effective coming forward. The Spaniard will now seek to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the 300-plus club in a second-round meeting with French wild card Corentin Moutet.

This is the first time that Nadal has contested the French Open without reaching a prior clay court Masters 1,000 final. “How is my level of confidence, how ...

With the opening set under his belt, however, Norrie relaxed and as he played freely until the end, the difference in quality between himself and the 26-year-old ranked 146th became clear. Cameron Norrie took a positive first step into his French Open campaign by defeating the local wildcard Manuel Guinard 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 to reach the second round. But is a positive start, and that gives me a chance to have one more day on practice tomorrow and then another chance after tomorrow.”

RAFAEL NADAL struggled to sign the camera in celebration of his opening win at the French Open.

I am very happy with the win in straight sets and to get through the first round,” he said after breezing through his opening round. And the most successful player in the tournament’s history managed to bounce back by dropping just six games across three sets to Thompson on Monday - his first match at the French Open since he suffered a semi-final defeat to Djokovic last year. Rafael Nadal was forced to tell the French Open cameraman to “stop” as he struggled to sign the lens in celebration of his opening-round victory against Jordan Thompson. The 13-time former champion in Paris suffered a recent injury scare but proved he was still one of the favourites for the title with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 6-2 victory in two hours and two minutes.

Tennis - Nadal scored his 106th Roland Garros victory on Monday.

The Spaniard held at love with a service winner for a 6-2, 6-2 advantage in under 80 minutes. The Spaniard hammered a forehand down the line winner in game four to bring it home at love and open a 3-1 gap. Rafa grabbed a break in the third game with a backhand drive-volley winner for an early advantage.

Rafael Nadal picks up his third clay-court win of the 2022 ATP Tour season. © Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images. ATP Staff May 23, 2022.

But I never expected to be winning 15 Monte Carlos and Romes, so that's the situation today," he added, referencing his 10 Monte Carlo crowns and five Rome titles. "I think I need to improve my movement. I don't know," Nadal added. When you are winning more matches and more tournaments, you have better confidence. But it is a positive start, and that's given me a chance to have one more day of practice tomorrow and then another chance after tomorrow." "It is a good start, of course, straight sets," he said after his 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Aussie Jordan Thompson. "That's it.