Zverev, currently number four in the ATP rankings, is the Masters winner in Rome and not only because of that he is the favorite to face Nadal, even though the latter is ahead 7-3 in the head-to-head. The soon-to-be 38-year-old Spaniard has only played eight matches this year due to thigh problems, of which he has lost three. Nadal, who is not seeded this time in Paris due to his many injuries, has so far achieved a best clay court result of the round of 16 at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid in 2024.
In the Masters in Rome, Nadal was clearly defeated in the second round by Hubert Hurkacz from Poland in two sets. The 22-time Grand Slam winner will probably compete at Roland Garros for the last time. The most recent of the ten duels between Nadal and Zverev took place in the semifinals of the French Open in 2022, when the German twisted his ankle towards the end of the second set and suffered a serious ankle injury.
Nadal training delights fans in Paris
Rafael Nadal has already won the French Open 14 times. At the end of the season, the Spaniard will hang up his tennis racket. This is another reason why Nadal is being cheered wildly – even in a training session before his match at the French Open.
Ofner starts against wildcard player
The draw was not too bad for Ofner. Austria’s number one will face Frenchman Terence Atmane in the first round. The 22-year-old local hero is in the main competition via wildcard. The 28-year-old Ofner and Atmane have already had two duels, one of them in Paris. At the Masters 1000 indoor tournament there six months ago, Ofner won the first qualifying round with 5:7 7:5 6:4.
Atmane, ranked 120th in the world rankings, 75 places behind Austria’s number one, took revenge on hard court in the first round of the Phoenix Challenger this year with a 7:6 (7/5) 1:6 6:4 win. The Frenchman celebrated his only two main draw victories on the tour this year in Rome, one of them by his opponent’s retirement. Ofner took his tenth main draw victory of 2024 this week in Geneva.
Ofner has to bow to Ruud in Geneva
Sebastian Ofner was eliminated in the round of 16 at the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva. The 27-year-old Styrian lost to Norwegian Casper Ruud 6:4 2:6 2:6 on Wednesday. Ruud will now face Argentinian Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinals. The French Open is Ofner’s next tournament.
Ofner has been in good form in Switzerland over the past few days, and also put in a good performance in his round of 16 loss to last year’s finalist Casper Ruud from Paris (ranked number seven, he starts in Paris against Jakub Mensik/CZE). If he gets past Atmane, either the number 20 seeded Argentinian Sebastian Baez or a qualifier would be waiting. According to the paper, Ofner would meet the Chilean Nicolas Jarry (number 16) in the third round, and in the round of 16 he would meet the second-seeded Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner (ITA).
Test of strength of the old stars at the start
Another first-round hit is the match between Wawrinka and Murray. The Swiss Wawrinka won this major in 2015 in the final against Novak Djokovic. The following year, the Scot Murray made his only final appearance there, but lost to the once again top-seeded Djokovic. The Serb, having arrived from the tournament in Geneva as defending champion, will face the French wildcard player Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the opening match. The defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek, who is also top-seeded, will begin against a qualifier.
While there is no Austrian representative in the main competition of the women’s singles following Julia Grabher’s injury-related withdrawal and Sinja Kraus’s elimination from the qualification, Filip Misolic still has a chance of progressing. The 22-year-old Styrian will play against the 27-year-old Frenchman Quentin Halys in the third qualifying round on Friday. The winner could then face Carlos Alcaraz (ESP/3) or Hubert Hurkacz (POL/8), among others.
2024-05-23 15:06:22
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