Tennis star Rafael Nadal lost to Andy Murray this past weekend at the Madrid Masters. Nadal had won the tournament the last two years. This is the fourth defeat this year on his favorite surface, clay. Nadal hadn’t lost that many matches on clay since 2003. The loss dropped Nadal to 7th on the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) rankings. This is the first time he is ranked out of the top five since May 2, 2005. What could this mean for the French Open?
Nadal won the French Open the past five years in a row and has won it a total of nine times. If Nadal doesn’t rise in rankings before the French Open, he will have to play high ranked opponents as early as the quarterfinals. These could include Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray. Novak Djokovic is ranked number one, while Federer is two and Murray is three.
Nadal isn’t worried about where he is ranked. According to ESPN, Nadal said, “Whatever will happen, will be. It’s something that we have to realize, all of us, that what’s happening during these last years, it’s very complicated to be 10 or 11 years without leaving the top four.”
Nadal will have one more tune-up tournament before the Open. That will be this week in Rome. He will be the fourth seed and is on the same side of the draw as Roger Federer. This will be a big test before the French Open. Nadal is hoping that he will play better in Rome than he did in Madrid. He said, “Let’s hope these days don’t repeat themselves very often.”
The French Open starts on May 24th and goes to June 7th. ESPN will have all the coverage to watch it on TV. It will be interesting to see if Rafael Nadal can defend his title.
Who do you think will win the French Open?
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