As we all know, different parts of the world enjoy different sports. For example, people in Asia don’t enjoy basketball as some other sports, right? There are numerous reasons for these preferences, mainly historical ones. But there’s one discipline that ties practically all the people in the world.
We are talking about tennis. Just think about it, there are tournaments held in all corners of the globe. They are visited by all the best athletes and the stands are filled with people who want to see them. Tennis is also popular among sports bettors. If you need a place where you can conduct this activity, visit https://www.kingbillycasino.com/en-CA/games/top.
For you to be successful with betting on tennis, you need to understand the discipline itself. Besides that, you should understand who are the favorites and underdogs in each match. Also, who is a favorite to win a certain tournament? A good example is a story about Rafael Nadal and the French Open in 2024.
Let’s take a look at what we know about it.
The History
Even people who didn’t follow tennis carefully until recently have heard about Rafael Nadal. He is certainly one of the best players in the history of the sport. However, those people usually don’t know how special the connection between Rafael Nadal and French Open, better known as Roland Garros, is.
He is the most decorated athlete ever when it comes to this tournament. He won it fourteen times, which is more than any other competitor ever. His successes in Roland Garros have earned him the nickname “the King of Clay”. For those who don’t know, clay is the surface match played on here.
Those who know a lot about tennis know that his physical capabilities helped him to achieve these results. For instance, clay is a much faster surface than concrete or grass. Before the appearance of Nadal, this surface wasn’t as widespread as those we’ve mentioned. However, he helped its popularization.
Naturally, he is not the only one who can be considered as successful in this tournament. His most fierce rivals on Roland Garros are, of course, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas. A couple of years ago, he had a similar rivalry with, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka, and Andy Murray.
Despite all the harsh rivalries out there, we can see that Rafael Nadal has managed to win the tournament more than anyone else. When it comes to the only athlete who managed to beat him for the title more than once, we are talking about Novak Djokovic. He did it in 2016 and 2024
Rafael Nadal was eliminated in the semifinals on both occasions. At the same time, Nadal beat Djokovic in three finals, in 2012, 2014, and 2020. That’s why many experts on this sport consider their rivalry to be the most important one in the history of the French Open. Roger Federer was as successful as these two.
Thanks to Nadal, Spanish competitors are the most successful in the time range, known as the “Open Era”. France is the most successful one overall, which makes perfect sense. Sadly, French players didn’t win this tournament since 1983, which is a long time to be without a title in a domestic tournament.
Nadal wasn’t successful in other tournaments during the last couple of years, but he managed to be consistent enough to win this several times in a row. As we’ve stated, he has a long-standing injury that prevented him from performing in many tournaments throughout the season. He rarely missed this one
Nadal and Clay Surface
We’ve mentioned that Nadal has dominated clay surfaces like no other player in history. Before him, the only one who could be considered successful on this one is a legendary player Bjorn Borg. Nadal has exceptional numbers when it comes to clay, with 220 wins and only a handful of losses, 18.
What makes these numbers even more impressive is that he was able to achieve them before he was twenty-five years old. Before Djokovic became a prominent power in tennis, Roger Federer struggled against Nadal on this surface, his wins can be calculated on fingers during that period.
What About French Open in 2024?
According to all bookmakers, Rafael Nadal is the favorite to win the tournament this year. However, many agree with the fact that Novak Djokovic is upping his form to win it, and surprise all the bookies. As we all know, Djokovic’s season didn’t start as he wanted it to be, especially after the strange situation in Australia.
Even though Nadal is the favorite, many are hesitant due to the long-standing injury that follows him for more than five years now. We are talking about the foot injury he suffered. Ex-players like Patrick McEnroe are not sure what to say about who is the favorite.
When it comes to other players that can surprise both these tennis giants, the list is fairly long. We are talking about Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Castper Ruud, and Mateo Berrettini. No one should underestimate players who are not in the top 10, like Marin Cilic, Denis Shapovalov, and Cameron Norrie.
Besides Djokovic, the main rival for this title is a fellow-Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz. He manifested his true potential only recently when he won against Djokovic in the final of the tournament in Madrid. Many think that he can become the main contender for the title in the end.
Basically, we are talking about a trio who has the potential to win it, Nadal, Djokovic, and Alcaraz. Surely, it is always possible for someone to surprise all of them and come on top. However, if you are interested in hearing our personal opinion, we would say that Nadal will be the one who wins it.
In Conclusion
The clash between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic always results in an interesting match. We do not doubt that we will witness the same situation in 2024 at French Open. We’re all hoping for an entertaining match. When it comes to the favorite, we would say Rafael Nadal.
