However, the pecking order in which they appear on people’s list of favourites does vary.
Rafael Nadal is a 12-time Roland Garros champion and the heavy favorite in Paris every year. But this year, due to the pandemic and his lack of match practice, he is not as overwhelming a favorite as he usually is.
Even Mats Wilander, a three-time champion at Roland Garros, is predicting a much tougher challenge for the Spaniard in 2020. In fact, Wilander has picked Novak Djokovic as his favorite to win the title - ahead of Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem.
Novak Djokovic has won the French Open on one occasion - in 2016. And after his earlier than expected exit in New York, he rebounded well to win the title in Rome on Monday.
Also check out: The Complete French Open 2020 Schedule
Novak Djokovic nearly beat Rafael Nadal that time when it was rainy: Mats Wilander
One of the reasons that Wilander suggested could work against Nadal are the weather conditions this time of the year, which would be much cooler and possibly wetter than when the tournament is normally held in May. It was in similarly heavy conditions that Nadal was beaten by Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in Rome last week.
The Swede then went on to explain why Novak Djokovic and other hardcourt specialists might do better than usual on the Parisian clay this year.
Dominic Thiem, meanwhile, has reached the Roland Garros final the last two years, losing to Rafael Nadal on each occasion. But he does have four wins over the Spaniard in 12 matches on clay (the second most by any active player after Novak Djokovic’s seven).
The Austrian comes into Paris after winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open earlier this month, and will be well-rested after choosing not to play any of the tune-up events.
Wilander believes Dominic Thiem will also be very dangerous at this year’s tournament, despite the less-than-stellar manner in which he won the US Open final.
Follow Sportskeeda to get the latest French Open 2020 Results and Schedule
0 votes
