Who will win the French Open? That question is not exactly packed with suspense. Who is Rafael Nadal’s biggest threat? Now that question–even though it less important–is far more interesting.
Dominic Thiem upset Nadal in Madrid. Novak Djokovic looked something like the Djokovic of old on Saturday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Big hitters like Marin Cilic, John Isner, and–when healthy–Juan Martin Del Potro can, at times, take the racket out of Nadal’s hands. And there is Alexander Zverev, who may be the answer to the aforementioned question.
Zverev, the recent champion in Munich and Madrid, improved to 17-2 on clay this spring by booking his spot alongside Nadal in Sunday’s Rome final. Success at Masters 1000 events is nothing new for the 21-year-old German, who not only triumphed last week in Madrid but also lifted 2017 trophies at this same Rome tournament and in Montreal. He has maintained momentum this week by beating Matteo Berrettini, Kyle Edmund, David Goffin, and Marin Cilic, surrendering only one set to Goffin in the process.
Zverev’s reward is a fifth opportunity to pick up his first-ever win over Nadal. Although the 31-year-old is a perfect 4-0 in the head-to-head series, he needed final sets to hold off Zverev at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters and at the 2017 Australian Open. Unsurprisingly, clay has proven to be a much different story. Nadal clobbered the youngster 6-1, 6-1 last year in Monte-Carlo and 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 earlier this season in a Davis Cup quarterfinal between Spain and Germany.
Still, the 16-time Grand Slam champion is not expecting a walk in the park–not with the way Zverev is playing these days.
“It will be a tough one,” Nadal noted. “Sascha is playing great, winning a lot of matches in a row. Tomorrow I need to be ready to keep playing my best, and that’s what I’m going to try.”
That is exactly what the top seed has been doing in Rome as he tries to make amends for his stunning Madrid loss to Thiem that ended a 50-set winning streak on clay. Nadal also dropped a set to Fabio Fognini on Friday, but he rolled over Damir Dzumhur and Denis Shapovalov and did well to pass a stern test from Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semifinals.
Although Zverev also got off the court in straight sets, he once again finished much later than Nadal after requiring two hours and one minute to defeat Cilic. The second seed, who took a brief medical timeout for a shoulder issue on Saturday, also survived tough ones against Edmund and Goffin. All of this recent tennis is bound to catch up with Zverev–especially with the toughest physical test in tennis (facing Nadal on a clay court) awaiting him.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
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