Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros R1 matchup against Alexander Zverev has picked the stream as everyone in tennis eagerly anticipates the thriller.
Nadal is heading to the 2024 edition of Roland Garros as a 14-time champion at the event and now needs to play his best tennis to get past the opening round.
An in form Zverev who is riding on the back of the Italian Open triumph at the weekend enters the tournament as one of the favorites of bookmakers and tennis analysts.
Nadal clinched the title when he last appeared in the tournament before a multitude of injuries in 2022 but has only managed to participate in four tournaments in the last year and a half because of physical struggles. The 22-time Slam champion was handed a convincing defeat.
Now Zverev’s elder brother Mischa has discussed the draw and the blockbuster clash between his brother and Nadal while talking to Eurosport.
“When you see the 2024 French Open draw, you have to sit down to digest it,” said Zverev.
“It’s Zverev against Nadal in the first round. How did that go a few years ago? A three-hour match that ended without a match point because Sascha got injured and couldn’t finish. He was then out of action for six or seven months.
“Rafael Nadal won his last French Open back then. Now they’re playing each other again in the first round, but a lot is different: Sascha is seeded and Rafa isn’t even in the top 100, which hasn’t been the case for more than 20 years. Everyone is asking me: Mischa, how will it turn out? What do you think?
“I’ve always said that Sascha could and should have won it back then. And he will win it this time too, because Rafa has become a bit slower and his fitness is no longer the same. The shots may still be the same, but the big question is whether he can play them over five sets. I think the winner will be Zverev in the end and I hope it will be over in three sets.
“Nevertheless, it will be a very tough match – perhaps not in terms of play, but emotionally, because it could also be Rafael Nadal’s very last match at the French Open. The crowd won’t really be able to decide whether they want to see a great match or simply Rafa on the Philippe-Chatrier once again.
“Both of them will go into the match with a lot of courage, with nervousness, but also with the strange feeling that the era of Rafael Nadal could come to an end on the red clay of Paris.”
Nadal had scheduled a practice with Zverev on Friday in Paris but that planned session fell through when the duo were placed together in the draw.
Reports suggest that the 37-year-old former world No. 1 steal a set against Russian World #5 Daniil Medvedev at a practice session at French Open on Thursday but Nadal would need to raise his game dramatically if he wants to have a chance to enter the second week of his beloved slam.