PREVIEW: All eyes turn to Roland Garros

The eyes of the tennis world turn to Paris as the fabled clay courts of Roland-Garros play host to the year’s second Grand Slam.

It’s the time of the year when, no matter his form or fitness, Rafael Nadal becomes the man to beat and with 13 Roland-Garros titles and a record of 105 wins and only three losses in Paris, it is a moniker well earned.

THE PRETENDER

Ordinarily, Nadal and Novak Djokovic would be the overwhelming favourites but this year a young star is threatening to derail the plans of the two greats.

Teenager Carlos Alcaraz has announced himself a genuine challenger to the establishment due to his fantastic run of form leading up to the showpiece event.

Alcaraz’s season so far includes four titles, two of which were Masters 1000 crowns. In that run, he became the 10th teenager to break into the top 10 of the ATP rankings, the first to do so since Andy Murray in 2007 and the youngest since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

His run to the title at the Madrid Open is what really sets him apart from other youngsters that have burst onto the scene in recent times. A day after turning 19, Alcaraz came up against his hero, Nadal, in the quarters and became the first teenager to beat the five-time Madrid Open champion on clay. As if that wasn’t enough, Alcaraz next faced Djokovic in the semis, defeating the Serb to become the first teenager to beat the world No 1 since Nadal beat Roger Federer in 2004. Not content with becoming the first man, or rather boy, to beat Nadal and Djokovic in back-to-back matches on clay, Alcaraz then dispatched Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final to become the first player since David Nalbandian in 2007 to beat three of the top five seeds at the Masters 1000 event.

With the records tumbling around him it wouldn’t surprise many if he was to go on to break some more at Roland-Garros. Alcaraz could go on to become the fourth-youngest Roland-Garros champion and the first teenager since Nadal in 2006 to lift the trophy.

At this stage in his career, Alcaraz’s record is a near mirror image to that of Nadal’s and if the youngster can claim his first Grand Slam title in 2022, one can only imagine what heights he might go on to reach.

THE AGEING KINGS

While Alcaraz chases records on the younger side of the spectrum, Djokovic and Nadal are bidding to become the oldest player to have won at Roland-Garros.

That honour currently belongs to Andres Gimeno who won the title in 1972 at the age of 34 years 9 months and 19 days.

Nadal is currently second on that list, after his victory in 2020, and Djokovic is third after his victory last year, at 34 years old. Nadal will be turning 36 on 3 June while Novak will celebrate his 35th birthday on the 22 May, so by the time the final rolls around on 5 June, both men will be eligible to become the oldest champion – if they happen to progress that far.

Much speculation still surrounds Nadal’s fitness ahead of Roland-Garros with a foot injury continuing to plague the mercurial Spaniard. As we know though, injury worries ahead of a Grand Slam aren’t always a predictor of doom for Nadal, given that he claimed his 21 Grand Slam title at the Australian Open amid similar concerns prior to the tournament.

Djokovic, on the other hand, is physically fully fit, despite only playing 16 matches in 2022, but questions over his mental state remain, considering the drama that surrounded his tumultuous deportation ahead of the Australian Open. The Serb heads into his first Grand Slam appearance of the season in fine form though, having claimed the title at the Rome Masters a week ago. But the mental strength needed to win a Grand Slam is far greater than in any other tournament.

Despite their age or apparent struggles with fitness, form or mentality the two are more than experienced enough to be capable of showing the young guns just how good they really are when the pressure to perform is truly on. It would be no surprise if either of them was to add to their already bulging Grand Slam trophy cabinet.

Alcaraz, Djokovic and Nadal are on the same side of the draw, with Nadal and Djokovic potentially set to meet in the quarterfinals and for the victor, a potential semifinal against Alcaraz would await.

THE QUEEN

There is only really one pre-tournament favourite in the women’s draw and that is world No 1 Iga Swiatek. The Pole, who already has one Roland-Garros title to her name, has been in fantastic form this season racking up 37 wins en route to five titles in 2022.

Ons Jabeur’s form bodes well for the Tunisian as she bids to claim her first Grand Slam title. Not only did she collect her second-ever WTA title at the Madrid Open, but she’s also been involved in two other clay-court finals in the build-up to Roland-Garros, losing to Belinda Bencic in Charleston and Swiatek at the Italian Open. If Jabeur does go on to become the Queen of Clay, she will be the first-ever African woman to have won a Grand Slam title.

Elsewhere Emma Raducanu and Barbora Krejcikova will be out to prove that their maiden Grand Slam triumphs were not one-off events while Naomi Osaka will be aiming to return to form in order to add to her haul. Garbine Muguruza and Jelena Ostapenko will be hoping to conjure fond memories of their Roland-Garros victories to fuel title tilts in 2022 while the likes of Paula Badosa, Maria Sakkari, Anette Kontaveit, Aryna Sabalenka, Karolina Pliskova and Danielle Collins will be on the hunt for their first-ever Grand Slam title.

With the unpredictable nature of women’s tennis, the Queen of Clay crown is up for grabs for anyone who dares to want it badly enough to do what it takes to get the job done.