Tennis: two weeks away from Roland-Garros, Nadal offers himself Djokovic in Rome

Roland-Garros 2021, which begins on May 30, promises to be a revenge for the previous edition.

Last year, Rafael Nadal overcame Novak Djokovic without giving up a single set to the Serbian at Porte d'Auteuil (6-0, 6-2, 7-5).

The Mallorcan won again against the world number one Sunday afternoon in the final of the Masters 1000 in Rome (7-5, 1-6, 6-3).

He thus brings his record of victories to ten in the Italian tournament.

Despite a longer playing time in the legs over the weekend, Djokovic first stood up to the Spanish left-hander.

He thus made the race in front during the first set before giving it in the last points then flew over the second set.

Rafael Nadal finally recovered in the third and final set, no doubt helped by his physical freshness.

A first battle of 1h14 and Nadal wins the 1st set (7-5)!

🔥

Follow the # IBI21 final exclusively on Eurosport and https://t.co/XcZuM6O9AA pic.twitter.com/kJ6A5zQgB2

- Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) May 16, 2021

On the women's side, Iga Swiatek has established herself as the favorite to her own succession at the Grand Slam tournament on clay. In the final of the Italian Masters 1000, the young Polish 19-year-old crushed the Czech in barely three quarters of an hour and conceding no game (6-0, 6-0). For the former French player Arnaud Clément, consultant to Eurosport, it will again be necessary to count on the two monsters of world tennis for the French fortnight,: “They are both in good shape, we saw it this week and Rome is a very good indicator because it is the Masters 1000 closest to Roland Garros in the calendar. "

For the consultant who commented on the Rome final between the two players, the latter manage to maintain an exceptional level thanks to their mental work among other things: "They are 35 years old and at this age, they cannot perform well. the same way as 25 years old.

They are even more focused than before in the Grand Slams and are therefore harder to beat than in the Masters 1000. "

Zverev and Tsitsipas as main threats

In recent years, a new generation of talent has managed to occasionally shake up the historic behemoths of the circuit. It has also distinguished itself during this clay season, as evidenced by the victories of Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte-Carlo and of Alexander Zverev, who fell to Nadal at the Masters 1000 in Madrid. “Today these new players manage to beat them from time to time but this is rare in Grand Slam, says Arnaud Clément. However, the reference is to beat them in Grand Slam and not in Masters 1000 because it is these major tournaments that matter for Nadal or Djokovic. "

In the eyes of Arnaud Clément, this year is perhaps the last to really dislodge the Spaniard and the Serbian: “Psychologically, it's now or never. Beyond that, we won't be able to really consider it as they were because they will be 36-37 years old so it will be normal to be beaten by younger players. By force of circumstances, they will drop at some point with the weight of the years. If Zverev and Tsitsipas can create the feat at the Porte d'Auteuil, Dominique Thiem will be less expected because of his current poor form. The winner of the last US Open is however the player who most often managed to beat Nadal and Djokovic. As for the French, the poor performance of the French players in Rome does not bode well: none of them, including Gaël Monfils who was making his return to competition,won a single match in Italy ...