Will Anyone Be Able To Stop Rafael Nadal At Roland Garros This Year?

There is still a couple of months to go before the second Grand Slam event of the year gets underway, but fans are already questioning whether the Rafael Nadal dominance will be set to continue at Roland Garros this year. The Spaniard has an exceptional record at the French Open, and is quite rightly labelled the ‘King of Clay’.

No player in any Grand Slam has won more than the 13 titles that Nadal has won at Roland Garros, and the chances of him winning the event yet again this year are only improved when you consider that he has lost just twice in his 102-match history at the event. But, could this be the year that the King is dethroned?

While the surface may not be ideal, Novak Djokovic is in a real purple patch when it comes to his form, as he recently won the Australian Open, and is looking as though he is only getting better with age. Djokovic’s strongest showing at the French Open came in last year’s event, as he was able to reach the final before being beaten by Nadal in straight sets.

However, the Serb does have his worst record in Grand Slams at Roland Garros, as he has won just once, and has reached the final in just one of the last four installments. He has been knocked out in the semi-finals of the event on five occasions throughout his legendary career, but he could be in the sort of form in general that could threaten to end that barren run, and add a second success to go with the victory that he achieved in 2016.

Dominic Thiem finally ended his wait for a Grand Slam success in the US Open last year, as he beat Alexander Zverev in the final. There were some that chose not to get carried away with that success, as Nadal and Roger Federer were both absent from a Grand Slam event for the first time since 1999, while Djokovic was ejected from the event after an outburst on the court in an earlier round.

Still, the Austrian had to go and win the event, which he did in dramatic fashion. In truth, the 27-year-old had been knocking on the door for a while, as he had reached three finals before picking up a first win. There were two French Open final appearances during that time, as he lost to Nadal on both occasions, but he is certainly a player that is more than capable on the clay surface.

While cases can be made for a couple of players, it is still hard to see past Nadal picking up another win at the French Open. Such has been his dominance that it will be incredibly difficult to get anywhere near the level that the Spaniard has set throughout his career on clay.

However, you will be able to keep up to date with the action at Roland Garros, as well as all tennis events with the tennis live scores and results at Oddspedia. Here, you will find all the major events, and the latest odds for all the biggest competitions throughout the season.