A possibilityso, is a wish or a prediction?.
You're making the assumption Nadal is able to remain healthy. If you factor in the risk of injury, it is entirely possible someone else will win.
I agree. It's Nadal vs Djokovic.1. Nadal
I’m serious. Anyone else winning at RG would be considered a major shock. I mean, people can predict all sorts of **** and this might be one of the THREE years it sticks, but the favourite (if even half fit) is Nadal. His ridiculous, one of a kind record demands it.
The man is 86-2 there. 86-2. Won it 11 times in 14 attempts. Crazy.
The only other guy i’ll mention is Djokovic. If Nadal doesn’t win it, he will. There is no one else.
Federer and Del Potro?
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Neither will make the final.
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Where is Stan?![]()
I considered him, but he hasn't played great in 1.8 years
Fed, on track for a semi with Nadal that nobody thought he could win, now has a more open path to the final.
1. Djokovic
2. Rafa
3. Fed
4. Thiem
5. FAA
6. Coric
7. Monfils
8. Wawa
9. Khachanov
10. Zv
And no Wawrinka?At the moment who do you think has the best chances to win Roland Garros 2019?
I'd say
1. Rafael Nadal
2. Novak Djokovic
3. Dominic Thiem
4. Roger Federer
5. Alexander Zverev
6. Diego Schwartzman
7. Stefanos Tsitsipas
8. Juan Martin dél Potro
9. Marco Cecchinato
10. Gaël Monfils
Monfils is there because he has playing incredible this season, and I believe the slam he would want to win the most is Roland Garros, so a little chance. Cecchinato has already won a clay tournament this year, and has showed how much better a tennis player he is on clay. Federer, unlike a lot other better clay players, believes he can win a Grand Slam, and is a dangerous candidate.
So Isner is in your top 5?Only two players have beaten Rafa at RG and only 2 players have taken him to 5 sets, which Rafa won both. Only one favourite for this year's title until proven otherwise.
will stan be seeded ?... is an interesting questionWhere is Stan?![]()
Stan is currently ranked 36 so possibly, even likely. And he's in better shape than most give him credit for here. Would be just like him to take another slam when nobody expects it.will stan be seeded ?... is an interesting question![]()
I would put Thiem above Federer for sure. And Del Potro has to be somewhere in the top 10. Other than that looks about right, although even 4th still seems too high for Federer considering his last semi final there was 2012.
will stan be seeded ?... is an interesting question![]()
I think he'll be seeded. Ranked 36 and practically nothing to defend from last year. I'm going to say somewhere between 20-25 seed.Stan is currently ranked 36 so possibly, even likely. And he's in better shape than most give him credit for here. Would be just like him to take another slam when nobody expects it.
But can you imagine the threads that would infest this place?
"Who is a better clay player, Stan or Joe or Rajah"
I don't see DelPo as a serious threat to win anything right now, maybe when he starts playing I will change my mind.
Thiem should be above Federer, but Fed seems to be a bit on the warpath right now. His revenge matches against Coric, Tsits and Anderson have been things of beauty.
Fair enough on Del Potro. My thinking is the clay field is so weak, and he is one of the only proven ones that has shown any ability to play somewhat top level clay tennis (the same reason anyone is ranking Federer even though he hasnt done squat on clay in forever now; and many ranking Zverev even though he has been garbage all year and done nothing in majors period yet). I agree it is hard to imagine DP winning anything big right now, but top 10 to win doesnt mean much anyway, since it is pretty firmly established people who would be bottom part of the top 10 have about as good a shot of winning the mens French Open as Sharapova has of doing the Calendar Grand Slam next year anyhow. I mean seriously nearly everyone has Bautista Agut in their top 10 which is in fact absolutely correct, yet what are the odds of him actually winning Roland Garros, ROTFL! It could be argued everyone but 2 or 3 guys would be a huge miracle.
I see your point on Federer too, but that warpath has been only on hard courts. If he continues that on clay I will be very impressed, and more than a little amazed. I just cant see him somehow having a significantly better chance on clay as a nearly 40 year old than he had 4-7 years ago, and his results those years indicate he wasnt even a top 4 clay courter those years.
RBA is not a clay courter, even though he is Spanish.All true...but, I don't discount RBA either. Not a flashy choice but I have watched the guy work and he is merciless.
Re Fed, until he really falls off a cliff, he's a threat to win anywhere. His Third Act, his "George Gervin Phase," is still going strong.
I think that he is a better player than Nadal now, and has been for years. Would a clay meeting blunt his advantages? Sure. But I think Rafa has fallen off a cliff so much compared to Djok and Fed, that Fed has a better shot to win the FO, even if his path goes through Rafa, than he has in 10 years. And obviously he agrees or he wouldn't be playing.
The players know how strong the others are, better than we as fans or even the commentators/analysts. Rafa's face in the AO Final, he knew. He hasn't beat Fed in 5 years and counting...he knows. Otherwise why would he skip their match at IW? He's not confident and the other players are smelling blood.
RBA is not a clay courter, even though he is Spanish.