Asked about the Roland Garros favorites, Greg Rusedski placed a safe bet. The Briton labeled Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz as the players to beat in Paris in May and June. Nadal had to postpone the start of the clay season following a rib injury in Indian Wells. The king of clay skipped Monte Carlo and Barcelona and will return to action in Madrid in May. Rafa will be motivated to achieve good results in Madrid, Rome and Paris and deliver his 14th Roland Garros title. Nadal failed to claim the 14th Roland Garros crown last year, losing in the semi-final to Novak Djokovic after four hours and 11 minutes.
Djokovic claimed the trophy and became the first player with multiple titles at all four Majors. The Serb had to dig deep in the final after losing the opening two sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic started all over from set number three to leave the Greek behind and celebrate the first Parisian title in five years. Novak has played only one tournament in 2022, suffering an early exit in Dubai and hoping to change that in Belgrade, Madrid and Rome. Stefanos Tsitsipas has been among the best clay-courters in the last couple of seasons. The Greek claimed the first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo last year, and he defended it last week.
Greg Rusedski picked his Roland Garros favorites.
Also, Tsitsipas had a match point against Nadal in the last year’s Barcelona Open final and stood a set away from tennis glory at Roland Garros. Carlos Alcaraz is also among the favorites, despite playing at Roland Garros once! A teenager is on the verge of the top-10 after claiming two ATP titles this year, including Rio de Janeiro on clay. Carlos became the third-youngest Masters 1000 champion in Miami, and he will seek the first Major trophy in Paris in June.
“Stefanos had a great week in Monte Carlo; it’s not easy to win back-to-back titles there, as the feat is reserved only for the Roland Garros champions. Stefanos is in a great position to have another deep run in Paris. In my opinion, he is among four favorites for the Roland Garros title, alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. The men’s tennis is very exciting at the moment. Can Alexander Zverev have a deep run in Paris? Of course, and I believe he can reach the semis. Still, I think the mentioned guys are a bit better than him at the moment. Carlos Alcaraz is ridiculously good; he is a phenom. He claimed the Miami title, and he should be among the players to watch in Paris,” Greg Rusedski said.