Coach Patrick Mouratoglou says Rafael Nadal can win the French Open but highlighted this might be one of the most challenging campaigns t Roland Garros afor the Spaniard.
Nadal, 36, hasn’t played since January as he is still recovering from the injury he sustained in the psoas muscle.
Nadal has already missed three tournaments at the start of the clay season and it is pretty clear that the Spaniard won’t have a great preparation for the French Open.
“There is a field of guys that potentially could make a surprise. I think this Roland-Garros will be incredibly exciting because if you look at the past, there was not much suspense. We knew more or less that Rafa would win. I am not saying that he is not going to win this year, he can still win. But he is getting older, and it’s more and more difficult. He is more and more injured. His preparation is never as good as what he wishes. It was the same last year, and he still managed to win. He had so much margin and his margin is less and less,” Mouratoglou said in a video uploaded on his Instagram.
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Mouratoglou on what Nadal could experience at Roland Garros
Due to his absence, Nadal plummeted to No 14 in the world and there is a chance the Spaniard won’t even be among the top-16 seeds at Roland Garros.
Because of that, Nadal could very easily face top players early at the French Open.
“Imagine Rafa has to play Felix Auger-Aliassime, it’s a very tough match like last year in Roland-Garros and then, the next match, he might have to play Jannik Sinner, to play Alcaraz. How is he going to deal with having to play three extremely difficult matches, intense, tiring and be able to play his best in the final?” Mouratoglou added.
It remains to be seen if Nadal will be able to play at least Rome leading up to the French Open.
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