French Open 2022: Top stars to battle it out to win Grand Slam

Team Udayavani, May 21, 2022, 2:48 PM IST

It is that time of the year when the love capital of the world, Paris will be bustling with eminent tennis players all across the world, all in the search of the coveted French Open title. The 2022 edition is no different than its predecessors.

The tournament will feature almost all of the top stars, vying for different records. Novak will look to shrug off controversy with regards to the covid 19 vaccine. Spaniard Nadal will try to cement his place in the GOAT debate. It will be also interesting to see which of the young guns can cause the major upset and meddle with the bets placed on the top-seeded players.

Djoko to reclaim his throne?

World number one Novak Djokovic was barred from the Australian Open earlier this year due to his stubborn stance on not vaccinating. Djokovic, who had won the Italian Open last week, is the clear favorite in the competition. The World No. 1 will open his campaign against Yoshihito Nishioka, with a probable fourth-round match with Diego Schwartzman.

The Serbian has 20 Grand Slams in his kitty and will be hoping to add another and equal Rafael Nadal’s record of winning 21 major titles. The duo is drawn in the same quarter, implying a blockbuster quarter-final clash between these two.

Will injury mar Nadal’s 22?

The French Open and Rafael Nadal are synonymous. Rafael Nadal is the man who has won 13 Roland Garros titles and has a 105-3 match record. The King of Clay, as he is widely known, will be at his home.

However, with his foot ailment recurring only nine days before the start of the French Open, it appeared that Nadal would withdraw from the competition.

To offset injury, he arrived in Paris last Wednesday and has been hard at work reclaiming the throne. He’ll start his campaign against Jordan Thompson of Australia, with a possible match against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in the next round.

Despite Nadal’s clay-court dominance, Djokovic will arguably be the favorite to take the first step in Paris. After a stunning 20-0 start to 2022 on his comeback from an extended layoff following last year’s French Open, Nadal has struggled to make his typical progress during the clay swing due to a recurring foot issue.

Alcaraz to end Djoko – Nadal duopoly?

Going into the French Open, record champion Rafael Nadal is embroiled in an all-time Grand Slam duel with world number one Novak Djokovic, but both could be overshadowed by young wonder Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz defeated his Spanish compatriot Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, and the 19-year-old is rapidly being compared to his idol.

Alcaraz, who is making his sixth appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, has already won titles in Madrid and Miami. Experts believe, the world number 6, is all set to gatecrash any past champion’s after-party.

Authored by Rajasik Mukherjee, Media and Communication student at Manipal Institute of Communication