Rafael Nadal set for another French Open title?

The 2019 French Open has kicked off and is the second Grand slam of the year, and as always is being played on outdoor clay courts. It is again being held at Roland Garros in Paris, with the tournament taking place between the 26th May to 9th June. This will be the 123rd edition of the tournament, with big crowds expected to be in attendance. Heading up the Men’s side is Rafael Nadal, who also enters as the defending champion. Looking at the review of lucky247 bets, he has proved a very popular selection to defend his crown.

Rafael Nadal currently sits second in the World rankings behind Novak Djokovic, but is without a doubt the greatest clay court player in history. This is shown in the fact the 32 year old holds the record for the most clay court titles in the Open era with 58. This including 11 Monte-Carlo Masters titles, 11 Barcelona titles and an incredible 11 French Open titles. His record speaks for itself on clay, which is why he is now odds on to add another French Open title to his record.

He has always been a remarkable talent and amazingly achieved the career Grand slam at just 24 years of age, meaning he was the youngest of five in the Open era. He does however continue to have injury issues, which is why some were doubting him for success in France. He took part in the Italian Open or better known as the Roma Masters recently as a warm up tournament for the French.

This tournament saw Nadal return to something like his best as he won his ninth title there and in the process beat Novak Djokovic 6-0, 4-6, 6-1. This including an opening bagel, which will give him major confidence that he can pick up another title in Paris. World number one Djokovic currently holds all the other majors following last year’s victories at the US Open and Wimbledon, followed by his victory earlier this season at the Australian Open. The latter victory also included a straight sets win over Nadal in the final.

This victory now sees Nadal as the clear player to beat in France, as he looks for his third title in succession. His 2017 victory saw him winning the tournament without dropping a set, with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 win over Stan Wawrinka in the final. This was also amazingly the third time he had won in France without dropping a set, which is a further indication of his lengthy dominance on the surface.

Last year was another victory as Nadal equalled Margaret Court’s all-time record of 11 Grand Slam titles at one major and the first to do so in the Open era. He dropped just one set on his way to victory as he eventually beat Dominic Thiem in the final. This being a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

This all sets up for another victory for Nadal in France and a record breaking 12th title in total.