Rafael Nadal believes that a win in the Rome ATP 1000 tournament is no guarantee of success at the French Open.
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That Rafael Nadal will always be the favourite going into the French Open is a tennis constant at this point. You don’t win thirteen men’s singles titles at Roland Garros and not be the man to beat. And Nadal served up a timely reminder of his prowess on clay when he beat Novak Djokovic to win the Italian Open tournament. Yet the Spaniard believes that a win in Rome is no guarantee of success at Roland Garros.
“I don’t know if it (winning in Rome) will influence Roland Garros. All I know is that I have won one of the most important tournaments in the history of our sport,” Nadal told Marca.
“I can’t just think of four tournaments a year, it would be frustrating. There are more things. It is obviously better to arrive at Roland Garros with this title under your arm.”
Nadal admits that coming into the 2021 French Open, his main aim is to relax his mind and work on certain aspects of his game.
“Paris is the most important place in my career. I’ll have a couple of days off and work on things that I think I can do better. I also need to relax mentally.”
Going into the tournament, Nadal will be looking to break Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam title wins. Currently Nadal is level with the Swiss great.
Nadal is the undisputed favourite going into the tournament. His biggest challenge is likely to be Djokovic, who he dispatched in a hard-fought final at Rome.
Federer is rarely a favourite in Paris and he lost in shock fashion in the first round of the Geneva Open clay court tournament on Tuesday.
Whether any players from the “New Generation” can step up to or maybe even beat Nadal in his own backyard remains to be seen.
