Without Nadal, another world; another Roland Garros

Although the name of Marc Maury is unknown to the general public, it is by no means unknown to tennis fans. The Frenchman is not just another member of the tour, but one of the most recognizable and iconic voices of the circuit. La de Roland Garros. Before the great Parisian takes off this Sunday, the speaker walks and whistles along the main boulevard of the Bois de Boulogne complex, while the fan accepts that this time everything will be different: the endless humming that precedes each intervention of Rafael Nadal in the Philippe Chatrier is over, the one that until the last intonation – before the resolution of last year's tournament – sounded like that and that makes him lose the Air to the announcer for the extension of the successes.

"Il a 36 ans, a remporté 91 titres dans sa carrière, dont 21 en Grand Slams, 13 à Roland Garros [He is 36 years old, has won 91 titles throughout his career, of which 21 are Grand Slams, 13 Roland Garros]... : 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020... l'espagnol... Rafaeeeeel Nadaaaaal!

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COLUMN | 'I would bet on Carlos Alcaraz', by TONI NADAL

He is not there, the Mallorcan, and L'Èquipe, the sports bible of France, already said it: "Une terre sans son roi". A land without its king. Everything is different, everything is different, everything opens. A new landscape. A completely new circumstance in a scenario monopolized for almost three decades by the great Spanish champion, today injured and absent, beaten in retirement until the end of the year – or until they determine body and mind – to try to restore his battered chassis and be able to say goodbye to his sport as he and everyone wishes, How else? Fighting. Nadal is missing, and everything changes.

Djokovic, during a training session on the Suzanne Lenglen court.AFP7 via Europa Press (AFP7 via Europa Press)

"In a way, Rafa is Roland Garros and conversely, Roland Garros is Rafa. The feeling is very strange, everything is very weird, but the situation is what it is and unfortunately this year he has not been able to come. I hope I can do it next to say goodbye to this place as it deserves, "says to this newspaper a member of the organization, which in turn points out that the lament for the absence of the Mallorcan coincides with the enthusiasm of the management before what is expected as two fantastic weeks of surprises, uncertain the outcome even though Novak Djokovic has lifted the Musketeers' Cup twice and also collects 22 large, the same figure that Nadal has.

The Serb bursts in, but he does it with the serious gesture. Nole's low profile. Little to do with the teeth and smile worn by Carlos Alcaraz, number one and winner this season of Buenos Aires, Barcelona and Madrid; Three titles, 20 wins and only two defeats on clay. All conviction and appetite, unhindered beforehand: "I have never been afraid of anyone." Feet of lead of the Balkan, who departs before the journalists with a slight nasal congestion and offers a preventive speech, surrounded by bandages without the action having even begun.

Nole's melancholy

"Why is Alcaraz favourite, if...?", the Serb is asked, who interrupts the enunciation and shoots sharply: "Because he is the number one in the world and won major titles on clay this season. So right now, he's the biggest favorite, regardless of the fact that he has a big and I have 22." "If we look at the last few months, the way he is and mine, I think he's more favourite. This is a Grand Slam, a different tournament, five sets, and experience is on my side, but to what extent will that play an important role in an eventual head-to-head with him? We'll see. By play and form, he is number one."

Djokovic attends in Paris with a very discreet balance in the preparatory tour on clay. He has participated in three tournaments, in which he has recorded five wins and three losses. "I haven't had too much success, but you know, this is a Grand Slam, a different sport." The one in Belgrade does not seem to see it entirely clearly. Elbow problems forced him to downshift during the spring and at the beginning of the year, a muscle injury in the thigh conditioned his route in Melbourne, where he triumphed again. "I don't have any problems that worry me, I hope I don't have to deal with something like that again...", he confides, at the same time that he gives off an enigmatic phrase: "But I have to be prepared, because things like that can happen today more than before".

Carlos Alcaraz serves during Saturday's rehearsal. AFP7 via Europa Press (AFP7 via Europa Press)

At 36, no trace of the haughty, voracious and convinced tone with which Djokovic tries to start winning tournaments from the day before. Yes, a sudden invasion of melancholy: "That Nadal does not play here is a great loss for tennis and for Roland Garros. I've managed to beat him here twice, but I had to leave my heart and guts to get it. The news [of the Spaniard's anticipated goodbye] was a shock to everyone. People were asking me how I felt when he said that. He's my biggest rival, that's why I felt like part of me was going with him too; It made me wonder how long I'm going to play. I was moved by what he was saying."

There's no Nadal. Only the reproduction of 800 kilos and three meters of the tennis player who presides over the access to the complex by the Avenue de la Porte-d'Auteuil. And the theory of the unpredictable is reinforced by the Russian Daniil Medvedev, until recently allergic to the earth and now another aspirant: "Without Rafa, everything is definitely different. This year is not going to be the same; Before, every other day you could see him play on TV because they put him on the center court... Everyone is preparing, we're all crazy about our first rounds. Without him, maybe there could be a new champion, who knows?"

THREE SPANIARDS ON STAGE

This Sunday the action begins in the district of Boulogne-Billancourt, starting at 11.00, and the opening day will feature the intervention of three Spanish players. Nuria Párrizas, one of the five female representatives, will face the Australian Storm Hunter (202nd) earlier in the day. At that same time, Pedro Martinez will face a hard obstacle in Tallon Griekspoor (39th), after having drawn the previous phase, and towards 15.00 (on Eurosport too) Roberto Carballés will jump on the track, facing the American Emilio Nava (238th).

On the other hand, the German Alexander Zverev (26 years old) has ended the link with the trainer Sergi Bruguera (52), whom he hired in May last year. Both decided to separate their paths after the dispute of the Madrid Masters. The decision responds to purely technical criteria, given that the player (supported by his father, always present) and the Barcelona coach did not coincide when it came to shaping the game after the serious injury suffered a year ago in Paris.

It should be remembered that the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) decided to seal in December the stage of Bruguera as captain of the Davis Cup, understanding that there was an "incompatibility between the two positions".

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