Less than three weeks before his probable final Roland-Garros, Rafael Nadal only has the Masters 1000 in Rome to find his bearings on clay, while Novak Djokovic hopes to turn the page on his disappointing start to the year.
This is perhaps the last time that “Rafa” and “Djoko” are the two attractions of a Masters 1000. And it is perhaps the first time that such a poster with two players who won between them two 46 Grand Slam tournaments, leaves organizers and spectators with some regrets.
A further sign that tennis is entering a new era, the 87th Italian Open, which begins Wednesday May 8, is first and foremost the edition of a missed event. Eagerly awaited since his coronation at the Australian Open, his first major title, Jannik Sinner, new star of Italian sport at 22, had to give up the Roman meeting because of pain in his right hip .
To the Italian’s package was added that of the new clay court phenomenon, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, disturbed by his right forearm. We will therefore have to make do with veterans Nadal and Djokovic. And nothing says that they will stay in the Italian capital until the final scheduled for May 19.
World No. 1 still without title in 2024
Nadal, almost 38 years old, came to Rome to “ consolidate progress » shown between Barcelona, its resumption tournament after a forced three-month break, and Madrid where it fell in the round of 16. The Roman tournament which he has won ten times, the last in 2021, should allow him to decide whether or not he will appear in his garden at Roland-Garros (May 26-June 9), where he will only play s ‘he feels ” sufficiently ready ».
If he will start against a player from qualifying, “Rafa”, 305th in the world after his almost blank 2023 season, will have his work cut out from the 2nd round with the Pole Hubert Hurkacz, 9th in the ATP rankings. Djokovic finds himself in an unusual position. The Serbian is still world No. 1, but he has yet to win a title at this stage of the season, which has only happened to him once since his explosion at the highest level, in 2022.
After capitulating in the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, “Djoko” (36 years old) skipped Madrid to train in Belgrade. In Rome, he will play only his fifth tournament of the season, but his objective is to perform well at Roland-Garros, before moving on to Wimbledon, the 2024 Olympics and the return to hard court in the United States.
2024-05-07 14:29:17
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