Nadal still fancied

PARIS • Unbelievably, 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal is only third seed for this year's Roland Garros, below Daniil Medvedev who has never won a match on the Parisian clay.

He has been lumped in the same side of the draw as his great rivals, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and the returning Roger Federer.

He also turns 35 on Thursday.

Yet, it would still be a huge surprise if the Spaniard were not the last man standing when the tournament concludes on June 13.

With each passing year, questions are inevitably asked about whether Nadal's vice-like hold on the French Open will be loosened. Each time, the answer has been an emphatic NO.

And after his sweep to a 10th Rome Masters title earlier this month, the 88th ATP title of his career, few will be holding their breath waiting for his downfall.

If the Mallorcan needed any extra motivation, he knows that lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires once again next month will see him move ahead of Federer at the top of the all-time list of men's Grand Slam champions, with 21.

Only one of the "Big Three" will make the final - Djokovic is scheduled to face Federer in the quarter-finals before a potential semi-final blockbuster with Nadal, who boasts a 100-2 record in Paris.

"I see it as completely normal. I'm not worried about it. I have a lot of work in front of me to play a potential match versus Djokovic," said Nadal, who has also won in Barcelona this season.

"They would need to play each other and I have my own path. My path right now is Alexei Popyrin (in the first round).

"My draw is hard enough to be thinking about anything else. I must continue my preparation, focus on my routines and keep advancing in the way we want."

Nadal did show some vulnerability when he lost to Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev in Monte Carlo and Madrid respectively, but his commanding win over Djokovic in the Rome final sent out a powerful statement.

"Rome was crucial to him," two-time French Open runner-up Alex Corretja said of his compatriot.

"It was a reminder he is the best on clay ever and the fact he beat Novak in the final is something that gives him so much confidence."

Djokovic, whose hope of winning a second French title were destroyed by a ruthless Nadal in last year's final, was responsible for one of the Spaniard's losses in Paris, in the 2015 quarter-finals.

The Serb, 34, admitted earlier in an interview that clay "is not my favourite surface" .

He added: "I like to play on hard, then on grass, and then on clay.

"Clay is the kind of surface where it is unpredictable, and sometimes for my style of play, tempo, and rhythm it can be quite challenging when there are a lot of bad bounces, when the quality of the surface is not the best."

Federer, 39, lost his only match on clay this year in Geneva as he works his way back from knee surgery, and his expectations are perhaps as low as they have ever been ahead of a Grand Slam.

"I think for Roger to reach the quarter-finals would be an unbelievable result," Corretja said.

"But it's Roger, so you can never count him out, but I think if he reaches the second week it would be an amazing result.

"He couldn't find his rhythm (in Geneva). I don't think he is thinking he can win it, he's just going day by day and to be at his best for when the grass courts start."

Austrian Dominic Thiem, the fourth seed who has twice fallen to Nadal in the Paris final, will be favourite to come through in the bottom half of the draw although he has lost his last two matches.

Russian Medvedev, despite being seeded second as per his world ranking, will be happy just to win a match - having failed to do so in his previous four main draw appearances at Roland Garros.

Away from the obvious contenders, youngster Jannik Sinner, together with Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini, head a strong-looking Italian challenge.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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STEFANOS TSITSIPAS (GRE), 22

World ranking: 5

Grand Slam titles: 0

Best Roland Garros result: S-finals (2020)

ATP titles: 7

The Greek has already won two clay-court titles this year in Monte Carlo and Lyon and will back himself to break his Grand Slam duck in Paris having reached the final four last year.

The world No. 5 has won 33 matches this year - the most - and held match point against Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona Open final before losing in a marathon battle.

World ranking: 6

Grand Slam titles: 0

Best Roland Garros result: Q-finals (2018, 2019)

ATP titles: 15

Zverev came close to winning his maiden Slam at the US Open last year before losing to Dominic Thiem and will look to take the next step with the confidence he can now beat Nadal on clay.

He has never been beyond the Roland Garros quarter-finals but the dominant nature of his Madrid Open win - which included victories over Nadal and Thiem - makes him a top contender.

World ranking: 7

Grand Slam titles: 0

Best Roland Garros result: Q-finals (2020)

ATP titles: 8

The Russian enjoyed a run to the Monte Carlo final - his first ATP Masters 1000 title-decider - where he lost to Tsitsipas and also reached the quarter-finals in Rome and Barcelona.

He may be an outsider for the title in Paris but has the capacity to upset more accomplished opponents on clay, after reaching the last eight in only his second appearance last year.

REUTERS