STARNBERG, October 5, 2020
Rafael Nadal began his French Open 2020 journey by winning against Egor Gerasimov of Belarus. He is on a mission to acquire his 13th French Open title to take his Grand Slam total to 20. For punters that bet on french open, the 2020 tournament will be a close call. The tournament was delayed because the temperature is cold, the sun-baked clay court is damp because of rain, and due to the Covid-19 situation.
Despite all the harsh conditions, Nadal was able to get his first win in the French Open 2020. Nadal is excited to be home because, in his career, Roland Garros has been a unique venue to him. During the first match, Nadal went ahead of his opponent, Gerasimov. Although Gerasimov is a name to behold, Rafael Nadal had an easy time winning against him.
Nadal began by getting a 6-4 win over his opponent. Having mastered all tactics of his opponent, Nadal was confident throughout the match. During the second set, he still maintained the momentum even though Gerasimov fought. Nadal was able to claim the final set 6-2.
The victory saw Nadal move to the second round with a lot of confidence. He faced Mackenzie McDonald from the United States in the second round. He won 6-1, 6-0, 6-3. Nadal aims to equal Roger Federer, who holds the men’s record of 20 singles Grand Slam titles.
Nadal was in control of the encounter from the beginning when he broke McDonald’s serve. McDonald tried to fight, but he could not win as he lost his opening service game of the second set. He tried an underarm serve that was quickly noticed by Nadal, who dispatched it with ease. McDonald was able to only win his second out of four games at the start of the third set. Nadal got another break and was able to win against him.
McDonald was away for the rest of 2019 after suffering an injury that happened during the French Open. He tore a hamstring during a double’s match. He returned to Paris in 2020 and got a four-set win against Steven Diez from Canada.
Nadal is also looking to be on the semi-final collision course with Dominic Thiem, who he beat during the last two finals in Paris. He was lucky to play in better weather compared to the first round match. The weather was cold and damp during the first round, during favorable weather during the second match. Nadal still complained of the balls being heavy during a cold weather but less heavy when the weather is warm. This may be a reason for Nadal to play under the closed roof on Court Philippe Chatrier.
This month, Nadal lost in the Italian Open quarter-finals to Diego Schwartzman from Argentina. He enhanced his confidence when he fired 17 forehand winners against McDonald. Also, during the match against McDonald, he only made eight unforced errors and faced no breakpoints.
