2018 French Open
27 May-10 June, 2018
Roland Garros Stadium, Paris
The 2018
French Open will see Rafael Nadal chase his 11
th title at Roland Garros, with the Spaniard looking to once again reign supreme on the clay courts of Paris, while Serena Williams will make her Grand Slam return.
Nadal, who suffered a surprise loss to Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open last week, remains the clear favourite to claim the men’s singles prize. His game remains perfect for the slow, low Roland Garros clay and his history of dominance at the event gives him a psychological edge over every other player in the field.
Thiem, who is seeded seventh for the tournament, could be a surprise pick to break Nadal’s stranglehold, while fellow up-and-comer Alexander Zverev is also one to watch. The dark horses include South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, who is seeded sixth, as well as Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
Perhaps the more likely challengers to Nadal are Marin Cilic and Juan Martin Del Potro – the experienced duo at least have experience of winning a Grand Slam and they have more of a chance of overpowering the Spaniard, if not outlasting him.
On the women’s side, Williams may be coming back from more than a year away from the Grand Slams (her last appearance in one of the majors was her victory in the Australian Open at the start of 2017) but such is her class and pedigree that she cannot be written off as a potential challenger.
This year’s Aussie Open winner, Caroline Wozniacki, is the top seed heading into Roland Garros, but her clay skills aren’t as well rounded as her hard-court game. A better bet is second seed Simona Halep, who has been a French Open runner-up in the past, as well as the power players like Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sharapova and last year’s surprise champion Jelena Ostapenko.
The elegant Caroline Garcia is the best hope for a home victory, though her lack of experience at the sharp end of a Grand Slam makes her a long shot at best, while Angelique Kerber has the skills, stamina and composure to go deep into the second week.
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