"It's going to be tough for Rafa" - Mouratoglou on Nadal's French Open quest

Patrick Mouratoglou acknowledged it won't be easy for Rafael Nadal to get a good preparation for the French Open this year as he underlined that the Spaniard will have to play well straight away when he returns to the court.

Nadal, 34, is set to miss the start of the clay season after the tests showed a stress fracture in one of his ribs. On that, Mouratoglou said:

"I think for Rafa it is going to be tough. Thankfully for him, he has a lot of confidence from the start of the season. But we know how much he loves to play a lot of matches before Roland Garros to feel fully, fully in control. He needs control. If he doesn't feel the control, it is very difficult for him. So the fact that he cannot play many tournaments before Roland Garros is going to be a big hurdle for him, for sure."

He further said:

"Because he has no other option than to play well straight away. A lot of times at the start of the clay season he doesn't play well at all. Last year, for example, he didn't. And he needed four to five tournaments to start to be the real Rafa. He won't have those tournaments this year. So he has no other option than to play great from the start. And this is not easy for him."