"It's hard to root against Rafa on clay": Robson still believes in Nadal's Roland Garros chances despite injury woes

Despite dealing with a bad injury this year, Rafael Nadal is still a favourite for Roland Garros according to Eurosport analyst Laura Robson.

Nadal has been tremendous at Roland Garros over the year and it's very hard to forget how he won the event last year. Numbt foot and all and it still didn't matter as nobody really came close to beating him. Zverev played him the best but that match was cut short by his terrible ankle injury. Due to all of that, Robson simply has a hard time betting against Nadal, injury or not.

She explained:

"The numbers that he's had at Paris, it's like hard to wrap your head around, but I just think he needs matches. The draw is wide open, but for me, it's hard to root against Rafa on clay."

He further stressed how magical it is to watch him play on clay when he's truly 100 %:

"It's like a magical thing to watch him on clay when he's 100% fit and just able to come up with something special. If his forehand game is strong from the start in Barcelona, then maybe a 15th title is on the way."

Fans were holding out hope that he might play in Monte Carlos but he announced a day ago that he won't be able to make it. It's still unclear where he will make his return.