Rafael Nadal Has ‘Room For Improvement’ Ahead Of French Open, Says Coach - UBITENNIS

Rafael Nadal Has ‘Room For Improvement’ Ahead Of French Open, Says Coach

Francisco Roig also outlines who he believes will be the biggest threats to the king of clay at Roland Garros.

By Adam Addicott
4 Min Read
BARCELONA, SPAIN - APRIL 25: Rafael Nadal of Spain. ATP Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona on April 25, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images)

20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal needs to work on improving two elements of his game heading into the French Open, according to one of his mentors.

Francisco Roig believes there are still areas the Spaniard needs to tune up as he bids to win the clay court major for a record 14th time in his career. Nadal has enjoyed a mixed 2021 so far on the clay where he has won titles in Barcelona and Rome. On the other hand, he has also suffered disappointment on the surface. Losing to Andrey Rublev in Monte Carlo and falling in straight sets to Alexander Zverev in Madrid.

The mixed results for Nadal, who has won more ATP titles on the clay than anybody else in history, are not too concerning for him and his team. However, coach Roig has outlined two key areas he needs to work on in the coming days before the French Open starts.

“Looking ahead to Roland Garros, I think a little more mobility is important,” Roig said during an interview with atptour.com. “At the level of aerobic capacity, he has been very good, holding out in games, but I think we have room for improvement when moving. It can still be a more dynamic point, both forward and in lateral mobility.”

Elaborating further, the 53-year-old also said Nadal should work further on his serve. At the Italian Open the world No.2 scored well behind his serve. In all the matches he played prior to the final Nadal won 68% of his first serve points and 56% of his second. In total he was broken nine times in four matches played.

“And the serve must also be worked on, although it has gotten better and better,” Roig added. “In fact, against Djokovic (in the Rome final) he was already pretty good.”

Nadal will undoubtedly be the bookmakers’ favourite in Paris given his history at the event. Only twice in 102 matches played has he been beaten. Those losses were against Novak Djokovic in 2015 and Robin Söderling in 2009. To put his success into perspective, he has won almost two times more matches than at Wimbledon (100-53).

Nevertheless, Roig believes there are players on the Tour who could derail Nadal’s bid for another French Open title.

“Novak Djokovic is still the rival, perhaps, who can cause more problems, along with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem,” he said.

On paper US Open champion Thiem is one of Nadal’s biggest dangers with the two having previously met in the final twice before. Although the Austrian admits he is far from his best form at the moment and suffered a shock loss to Cameron Norrie at the Lyon Open on Thursday. Making it the second tournament in the row he has been unable to secure back-to-back wins.

“Of course, if Dominic Thiem regains the rhythm and confidence that he usually shows on clay, I would say that I do not see differences between him and Djokovic,” Roig commented. “Since he won the US Open he has dropped a bit, but I’m sure that for Roland Garros he will be at the necessary level and will be a very tough opponent. He is a very complete player, who demands a lot in each hit, if you leave the ball a little short, the point is over. On a physical level he is very demanding.”

The French Open main draw will get underway on May 30th.

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