OK, I figured its time to do a preview of the 2017 French open and here is my list of contenders for the title and if not to win the title, then those who could go on a deep run into the event.
So let's see who is on top of the list and who's nearer the bottom...
1. Rafael Nadal
Well at the top of this list is this man, Rafa, the King of Clay, who this year has had a stellar one on the red dirt so far (as I type this) he remains unbeaten on a 17 match winning streak on clay (and that is more wins than Andy Murry has had all year so far!). Rafa right now is looking unstoppable and very much like his old self on his favourite surface as he has got his fire back and so far has already won three titles on the trot in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid and another title in Rome this week could even be on the cards.
The only thing that might hamper Rafa however is maybe fatigue as he has played so many matches throughout the clay season so far that there is a danger he could burn himself out before he get's a proper chance to win the title. However given how great a player Rafa is and his current form I don't quite see that happening right enough.
Anyway for me, right now, Rafa is the man to beat on clay this season and has been in the past for so many others and the way I see it is that Rafa will most likely claim a record 10th title at Roland Garros in a few weeks time. Prediction: champion.
2. Dominic Thiem
Next up is a rather surprising inclusion of Dominic Thiem, who so far has had a red hot clay season and the only man he has really come up short against is the man I have in this list at the top! Yes, its safe to say that Thiem's strongest surface is clay however he such an adept player that he plays well on all surfaces. Thiem already has chalked up some pretty impressive wins this season too that include a victory over World No.1, Andy Murray in Barcelona.
The only issue I have with Thiem winning this event comes down to experience in the latter stages of the slams, which he is pretty short on and that could prove to be his own undoing here as he has only reached one grand slam semi final and that was at the French last year where he lost convincingly to eventual champ, Novak Djokovic.
Despite this though if Thiem has a good draw and things go according to plan then I would not be surprised if this young Austrian found his way into the final although to get there he will still have to play exceptionally well but its something he is capable of all the same. Do I see him as the eventual champion??? No. The reason why is simply cos of Rafa, who so far I can't see not reach the final given his current great form and if him and Thiem play each other, Thiem most likely will come off second best, but reaching his maiden final in Paris I do think is still a good possibility.
Prediction: finalist.
3. Novak Djokovic
At No.3 is Novak Djokovic, who is the defending champion at Roland Garros, having made history by becoming one of the very few men to hold all four slams at once last year. However since then, Novak's career has taken a bit of a turn for the worse as he started to suffer a series of surprising losses to players he would normally beat with ease. It seemed apparent after his victory at the French Open last year, it had all taken its toll on him and Novak admitted himself that he felt empty in his career for the first time afterward.
Right now however Novak seems to be finding his feet again as his results have slowly been improving this season and despite an early season dip after he lost in the 2nd round of the Australian open, Novak managed to reach the semis last week in Madrid before he lost to Rafa. Novak went on to improve that record as he reached the final last week in Rome where he lost out to Alexander Zverev.
However the problem is just now, Novak is just trying to find himself again and I don't think he's quite ready to defend his title given the red hot form that Rafa is showing this season, who already has one win over him on clay last week in Madrid. This is also backed up by his loss to Zverev in Rome on Sunday there, which would suggest his grand slam winning form isn't quite there yet.
So for now I don't see Novak as the eventual champion but I still think he could reach the final or indeed the last four if he plays to form. Prediction: semi finals or final.
4. Alexander Zverev
So up next is the German
rising star, Alexander Zverev, who has had a meteoric rise over the last
12 months or so and just at the age of 20, he's already ranked in the
top 10 and he is fast improving all the time. And Zverev just there at the weekend capped the biggest win of his career as he won his first ever Masters title in Rome after stunning Novak Djokovic in straight sets, who appeared to be on a comeback during that event only to be stopped by a red hot Zverev.
The only problem I see with Zverev
however is his inexperience and given that he is only 20, when it comes
to playing the experienced elite guys, Zverev will give his all against
them and probably a tough match with it, but its trying to beat them is
where he will come up short. However Zverev is fast improving and there
is every chance he could make a deep run in Paris before he could go
out.
So, I would say for Zverev that he has an excellent chance of reaching the 2nd week and even possibly making it to the last four before he goes out, cos even though he won the title in Rome, a grand slam at this stage might still be out of reach for young German. Prediction: semi finals.
5. David Goffin
At No.4 is the talented Belgian player, David Goffin, who has had a pretty impressive year so far in 2017 and he too is becoming a seasoned clay court player as it remains also his strongest surface although Goffin is no slouch on any surface. Goffin has also reached two finals already this season in Sofia, Bulgaria and Rotterdam although he lost out to Grigor Dimitrov and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga respectively. He also went on to reach the semi finals at Monte Carlo where enroute he enjoyed victories over Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic before he lost to Rafa.
The only problem however for Goffin is, despite how good a player he is, he doesn't have any big weapons to threaten the guys at the very top of the game, so he has to rely on his speed and athleticism to stay with his opponents. Goffin is also pretty inexperienced at playing in the latter stages of the slams so that might go against him also.
Despite this though, I think this year could be one where Goffin can stand to make a deep run into Paris as last year he already reached the quarter finals, so this year I think he could go one better and reach the last four before he might check out in Paris. Prediction: semi finals.
5. Stan Wawrinka
Next is Stan "the man" Wawrinka, the former 2015 champion at Roland Garros, who is already a three time major winner, so he knows a thing or two about how to win the big events. Stan however has not really had a stellar season so far in 2017 although he did reach the final at Indian Wells where he faced his good friend, Roger Federer in the final and lost to him in straight sets.
And the problem for Stan is of course his consistency as he really is up and down throughout any tennis season, yet the guy remains a bit of a puzzle as he can go out of a tournament early one week and win a grand slam the next! And if only Stan was able to bottle those good weeks then he could certainly give himself a chance of later completing that career slam sooner or later, if he can triumph someday at Wimbledon.
However if Stan were to quietly work his way into the draw then he might be able to just pull off another victory in Paris but given Rafa's indomitable form on clay this season, right now, Stan would come off second best. However Stan might still go far if he finds his feet and form in time he might just get to the last eight or four. Prediction: quarter finals or semi finals.
7. Kei Nishikori
Next up is Kei Nishikori,
who has previously reached the quarter finals at the French two years
ago before he lost out to Tsonga in five sets. Kei however is no
stranger to playing in the latter stages of the big events and he was
already a US Open finalist three years ago, where he beat Djokovic
enroute to get to the final, so there is a chance that Kei could play
well here too again.
The main problem however for
Nishikori this season has been injury as he has been struggling with a
wrist injury in recent weeks and injury could seriosuly hamper his
chances of making a deep run, so he must try and stay fit and healthy if
he is to go far in Paris.
So for me, I think
Nishikori has a good shot at going deep here if he can stay injury free
but I don't see him being the eventual champion given that when it comes
to slam finals, he has only reached one and that is where inexperience
of the biggest stages might leave him short, if he doesn't fall to
injury first. But I still think Kei, if he stays fit will go far and
reach maybe the last eight. Prediction: quarter finals.
8. Andy Murray
OK, so you might ask just why is the No.1 player in the world so far down this list??? Well, if you have been following Andy's rather underwhelming season so far then you will know why he's 8th on the list instead of in 1st or 2nd place.
Yep, 2017 has not been kind to Andy so far, having just won a single title in Dubai and despite reaching a final in Doha and semi final in Barcelona, which are both smaller tournaments, Andy has failed to make any impact in the bigger events. Andy so far in 2017 has been stunned in the 4th round of the Australian open by Mischa Zverev (Alexander's older bro) and has gone on to suffer a string early losses in the Masters events in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome where his best result out of any these tournaments is in reaching the 3rd round. This is hardly the stuff of any World No.1 and right now, Andy is only really the World No.1 in name and has simply not been playing the tennis to back it up.
However, Andy is also a great champion and a fighter and in the past he has suffered his share of slumps and found a way back from them and the French open just might be the starting point for him. Andy will also be working again with Ivan Lendl with whom he has not really seen in four months since losing in Australia, so they will be putting hard work in before the French open starts no doubt and let's hope from that hard work we might see a bit of belief come back into Andy's game.
So for Andy its hard to predict where exactly he might get to in the tournament, it could all depend on how kind or cruel a draw he get's. In Rome he got one of the most horrendous draws imaginable as he took on the Italian seasoned clay courter, Fabio Fognini, who whitewashed him and brought his title defence to a sudden halt and it would be ironic if Andy were to face him this early on or in the 2nd round even! But if Andy get's a fairly decent draw, he could use that to his advantage to try and slowly work his way into the tournament.
And while alot of people are currently writing him off, I wouldn't be so quick to write-off Andy's chances of a decent run in Roland Garros as I think with Lendl's help he might just make it to the 2nd week. But it is also safe to say at the same time he could go out at any stage and maybe even in the first round (he nearly did last year right enough to Radek Stepanek!). However for me, I'm willing to wager that Andy may put in a decent showing at this year's tournament although I definitely don't see him being the eventual champion. Prediction: 3rd round, 4th round or quarter finals.
9. Lucas Pouille
At No.9 is Lucas Pouille, who enjoyed his first slam quarter final at the French open last year, so this year all eyes will be on him in the French capital once again.
However can Pouille replicate that same form as he did before then we might see him put in another strong run to the last eight but I probably don't see him getting beyond that, so the last round of 16 or quarters might be a good bet. Prediction: 4th round or quater finals.
10. Albert Ramos-Vinolas
And last of all is this talented Spaniard, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who has had a strong clay court season so far this year and he stunned Andy Murray in the 2nd round of Monte Carlo, which lead to him going on a killer run into the final where he eventually lost to Rafa. Andy however would go on to get revenge over Ramos-Vinolas in Barcelona a week or two later.
The only thing is though, can Ramos-Vinolas replicate that great form at the French open?? Well it is altogether possible that he can but I guess we will just have to wait and see but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he made it to the 2nd week and maybe the last round of 16 or 8 before his exit.
Prediction: 4th round or quarter finals.
As for a few other contenders there is of course Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the home favourite, who can be a bit inconsistent but he has still reached the last four twice in the past, so he could do well again this time round. Jack Sock, had a decent run two years ago at the French and he could do the same here, too as he seems to have a good feel for clay. Marin Cilic might also put in a good showing but he can also be a little unpredictable and inconsistent at times. Grigor Dimitrov put in a strong effort at the Australian open earlier this year but he has suffered a dip in form since but he could still scale it back in time for Paris to do well. And last of all Milos Raonic is always worth considering at the slams but he has had some injuries of late, which could see him go out sooner rather than later but if he is fit and well then it could be a decent run for the Canadian.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back again on here once the French open get's under way.
Till then its bye for now!
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