Rafael Nadal (#15-Spain), winner of 14 of his last 18 tournaments with just three losses, will not be competing. The battle for the vacant ‘claycourt throne’ begins. The second major of the season, the French Open, kicks off on 28 August at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France.
With Nadal, the ‘King of Clay’, unable to compete, the number one favourite to win the men’s singles title is current world number one Carlos Alcaraz (Spain), who is seen as Nadal’s heir apparent. Alcaraz won his first major trophy at the US Open last September at the age of 19 years and four months, making him the youngest player ever to reach the top of the ATP singles rankings.먹튀검증
He missed the first major of the season, the Australian Open, in January with a leg injury, but has already won four ATP Tour titles this year. However, his momentum was halted last week when he lost in the third round of the Rome Open, a precursor to the French Open, to Fabian Marozan (HUN), then ranked 135.
Two-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic (#3-Serbia) is also on a roll. Djokovic won the Australian Open to move into a tie with Nadal for the most men’s singles titles at a major (22) and will be looking to add to his tally at this event. The key will be how much he can regain his form since returning from a right arm injury.
2021 US Open winner Danil Medvedev (R2-RUS) shook off a long-standing clay-court jinx at the Rome Open last week. Medvedev has always struggled at the French Open, but his first clay-court victory will give him a lot of confidence going into the tournament.
Holger Lune (6th DEN), who has been compared to Alcaraz on his recent meteoric rise, Kasper Lund (4th NOR) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th GRE), who have both lost in the final of a major, including the French Open, are other favourites. Top seeds Andrei Rublev (7th-Russia) and Yannick Cigner (8th-Italy) are also in contention for the title.