French Open preview: Back in-form Djokovic ready to defend his crown

The world’s premier clay tennis tournament gets underway in Paris on the 22nd of May with all the big names raring to go. Will we see the first new winner since 2015?

Ahead of the summer’s first Grand Slam we analyse the top hitters and preview the action in what promises to be an exciting affair from Roland Garros.

Djokovic ready to serve revenge

After such a dominant display last year, winning all the Grand Slams but the U.S Open, where he finished runner-up, Novak had a bumpy start to proceedings in 2022. Missing the Australian Open and a series of other big tournaments due to a personal stance over the Covid vaccination, before a final and semi-final loss in Belgrade and Madrid respectively, he appeared to look tired and withdrawn from his usual all-conquering self.

Despite his difficulties though, he was able to get back in his groove and was in imperious form in Rome at the weekend, efficiently beating Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the Italian masters; coming back from 4-1 down in the second set and reminding us just why he is the current undisputed world number one and favourite at 13/8 to win this year’s French Open.

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Will Nadal take back the trophy?

As we see Roger Federer’s era of domination fade into the twilight, his old rival, Rafa Nadal, who is five years younger, will be out to prove he can still compete with the best though drawing nearer to the end of his glittering career.

The man who has won four French Open titles in a row on two separate occasions and 13 overall, the last coming to an end when Djokvic denied him a fifth in 2021, is 9/4 to claim the trophy again this year. He will be in top form after winning the Australian Open earlier this year where he came back from two sets down to beat a surging Daniil Medvedev who has been a thorn in the side of the top players for a while.

Making it to four grand slam finals since 2019 and winning the US Open in 2021, Medvedev is ranked number two in the world and has been one of the few in the last decade to manage to challenge the big three in the final stages of major tournaments. He is 20/1 to do so again in Paris.

Another young spark to look out for is Carlos Alcaraz. A red hot 19-year-old who is generating compelling conversation surrounding his potential in the sport and comes off the back victories over Medvedev and Djokovic in recent tournaments. He is priced at 7/4 to win the trophy which would make him the sixth youngest winner of the tournament of all time.

Women’s world number 1 to win her second French Open?

The world of female tennis has proven to be more volatile than the men, with the world number one position changing much more often and the younger and less experienced players dominating the rankings.

The sudden rise to fame of the young Emma Raducanu, emphasizes the fluidity of Women’s Tennis and if she wasn’t struggling from back problems after retiring in the Italian Masters this month, she would surely have a better than 22/1 chance of winning.

It is the world number one Iga Swiatek priced at Evens, who most likely to lift the trophy as she looks to atone for almost two years without a grand slam title.

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