Rafa Nadal’s absence from Indian Wells saw the 22-times Grand Slam winner slide out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005 on Monday but the Spaniard will still be the “one to beat” at the French Open if he can get back to full fitness.
Nadal was forced to skip the Masters 1000 event in California, where he reached the final last year, as he continues his recuperation from a hip problem that halted his Australian Open title defence in the second round in January.
Failing to protect the 600 points from Indian Wells resulted in Nadal slipping four places to 13th in the rankings, ending his record 912-week tenure inside the top 10, which began when current number one Carlos Alcaraz was not yet two years old.
But, with Nadal ready to return to play at the Monte Carlo Masters next month ahead of the French Open, which he has won 14 times in his career, his stint outside the top 10 could be short.
World number four Casper Ruud, who lost to Nadal in the Roland Garros final last year, said he would not be stunned to see the 36-year-old capture the title once more. “That wouldn’t surprise me since he’ll probably use these weeks and these months, as he’s training for exactly Roland Garros,” Ruud told Eurosport as part of the ‘Ruud Talk’ series.
“It doesn’t matter if he loses at Monte Carlo or Rome or Madrid. The only thing that’s probably on his mind these days is just to be fit, be healthy and be ready for Roland Garros.”
Tennis lost two of its greats when Serena Williams and Roger Federer bowed out of the sport last year, but Nadal and opponent Novak Djokovic are still soldiering on.
Djokovic, who turns 36 in May, has showed little signs of slowing down and pulled level with Nadal on 22 Grand Slams by winning the Australian Open. “For the whole tennis world it would be fantastic to have one last confrontation at Roland Garros,” former U.S. Open winner Dominic Thiem said, adding that Djokovic would be favourites to win the remaining Grand Slams this year.
“The only event is Roland Garros: if Rafa is fit there, it’s precisely the opposite. He’s the guy to beat when he won the competition 14 times, it’s amazing.”
