At this year’s French Open, an astonishing forty-nine players are thirty years of age or older, with an overall 28.3 average. Day one will feature interesting matches with Kvitova, Thiem, Dimitrov and Venus Williams.
PARIS – The world’s biggest clay court tennis championship is officially underway. Rafael Nadal is the overwhelming favorite to win an historical tenth title in Paris after an extremely successful clay court season, which was nevertheless weakened by an unexpected defeat against Dominic Thiem in the Italian Open quarterfinals. After upsetting the Spaniard, Thiem was dismissed in dominant fashion by Novak Djokovic, who last year completed the Career Grand Slam by lifting the trophy at Roland Garros.
Given the absence of Roger Federer and the disappointing year that world No. 1 Andy Murray has put together so far, the two most important contenders for the 2017 French Open title are certainly Nadal and Djokovic, but they won’t have the opportunity to meet in the final as the tennis Gods placed them in the same half of the draw. As a result, Rafa and Novak are scheduled to potentially clash in the semifinals.
The two tennis titans always seem to end up in the same half of the draw whenever they are not the No. 1 and 2 seeds. In the last thirteen French Opens, they were drawn in the same half for an incredible eight times. This year’s tournament also confirms how much older tennis players have become since the days when Wilander (1982) and Chang (1989) won the French Open at 17 years of age. Back then the tournament was played by plenty of teen-agers.
Last year the draw had 50 players that were thirty years of age or older and this year we have 49 with an overall 28.3 average. Perhaps the most incredible stat is that all of the current top five players in the ATP rankings are over 30 years of age, which is something that has never happened in the past. It is hard to say whether this is a good or a bad thing for tennis, but the Fab Four supremacy – with the excellent addition of Stan Wawrinka as a solid fifth – has been both remarkable and undeniable. Furthermore, their longevity at the top of the game is now extraordinary.
According to Bet365, Nadal (1.83) is the odds-on favorite to win the title, followed by Djokovic (4.50), Thiem (11), Murray (12), Wawrinka (13) and Zverev (17). Nadal’s potential road to the final includes Paire in a tricky first round, Haase o de Minaur in the second, Simon in the third, Sock in the round of 16, Raonic in the quarterfinals and Djokovic or Thiem in the semifinals. In the top half of the draw, a potential finalist could be either Stan Wawrinka or the winner of the mouthwatering round of 16 clash between Murray and Zverev.
The first day of competition will feature some interesting matches with marquee names such as Kvitova, Thiem, Dimitrov and Venus Williams.
There is a lot of curiosity surrounding the return of Petra Kvitova. If she is truly ready to compete, Roland Garros will be a nice training block before heading to her beloved grass in the quest of a third Wimbledon title. Venus Williams will have to face a dangerous opponent in the Chinese Qiang Wang, who is currently training with the great Australian coach Peter McNamara.
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
