This Monday begins the Masters 1000 in Rome. The opportunity for Nadal and Djokovic to prepare for less than three weeks before Roland-Garros.
Less than three weeks (May 26-June 11) before his probable final Roland-Garros, Rafael Nadal only has Rome to find his bearings on clay while Novak Djokovic hopes to turn the page on his disappointing start to the year . This may be the last time «Rafa» et «Djoko» are the two attractions of a Masters 1000. This is perhaps the first time that such a poster with two players who between them have won 46 Grand Slam tournaments, leaves some regrets for the organizers and spectators.
Sinner and Alcaraz absent
A further sign that tennis is entering a new era, the 87th Italian Open 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, 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. 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.
Nadal “certain of nothing”
“I’m not sure of anything, I don’t know what could happen”, he summed up after his elimination in Madrid, burned by the physical struggles he has been experiencing for two years. If he will start against a player from the qualifiers, «Rafa»305th in the world after his almost blank 2023 season, will have a lot to do from the 2nd round with the Pole Hubert Hurkacz, 9th in the ATP ranking.
For his part, Djokovic finds himself in an unusual position. The Serbian is still world number 1, but he has yet to win a title at this stage of the season, which has only happened to him since his explosion at the highest level once, in 2022. After having capitulated in the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, «Djoko»36, 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. “This year has been a little different for me, I haven’t yet found my best level of tennis and I hope I will do so at Roland Garros” analyzed the six-time winner of the Masters 1000 in Rome last week.
2024-05-07 07:55:09
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