Former World No. 1 John McEnroe has explained the reasons behind the extraordinary clay-court dominance of 10-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.
Disclosing Nadal’s weapons, which give the Spaniard a huge advantage on the red dirt, the American emphasized on the 31-year-old three qualities – his undying will to win, his dogged approach and his ability to challenge adversity.
The Majorcan is the overwhelming favorite to win his 17th Grand Slam title and a record extending 11th Roland Garros crown. He made a shaky start against Simone Bolelli in his French Open opener on Tuesday, but looked in ominous form in his 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 annihilation of Guido Pella on Thursday. Nadal gave his Argentine opponent a lesson in clay-court tennis as he required just two hours and three minutes, completing what was a pretty easy win.
Nadal is expected to coast through to the business end of the tournament without breaking much sweat on the court. And McEnroe believes Nadal’s fighting spirit is the key to his success.
“He has more than one [secret weapon],” McEnroe told Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I think about the fighting spirit, the will to always win and never give up on any point. And then his game is a nightmare for his rivals.
“For this aspect, I am reminded of my matches with (Bjorn) Borg: Bjorn was intimidating you on technique, through his top spin. Same goes for Nadal.”
“I believe that it depends on him, on clay in the best-of-five sets matches, if he is doing well and has no physical issues, he is still the big favourite,’ McEnroe added.
“(Alexander) Zverev and (Dominic) Thiem seem to me the most prepared, maybe (Novak) Djokovic, maybe someone with a big serve, but it’s difficult to beat him at the end (of a long match).”
