Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic backed for resurgence at French Open by Chris Evert - ‘Can’t underestimate Rafa’
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Updated 10/05/2023 at 15:12 GMT
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have both had their respective challenges with injuries heading into the French Open, but Chris Evert believes the duo have the experience and know-how to bounce back and be ready for the second Grand Slam of the year. Nadal was forced to pull out of this week's Rome Masters with an ongoing injury, while Djokovic is able to defend his title in the Italian capital.
'I'm curious to see' - Evert talks about Nadal and Djokovic status for French Open
Chris Evert is backing Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to come through their recent injury woes and make a strong challenge for the French Open title.
Nadal has endured a torrid first half of 2023 and was most recently forced to pull out of the Rome Masters with a hip injury.
Djokovic meanwhile will be able to defend his title in the Italian capital after recovering from a sore elbow.
In their absence on tour, Carlos Alcaraz has continued to emerge as the leading men's player, winning in Barcelona and Madrid to underline his credentials ahead of Roland-Garros.
"Hopefully everybody's healthy - it seems like a lot of the players have been injured recently," Evert told members of the media ahead of the French Open, which will be live on Eurosport and discovery+.
"When I look at the men - Novak and Rafa - with question marks about their health. These two are the greatest, they've been the greatest clay-court players in the last few years and as they get older, they're getting a little bit more injured.
"We don't know what their status is going to be. I'm curious to see Novak and Rafa, just hopefully they're 100%, but we don't know.
"You can't underestimate Rafa. I really haven't seen great clay-court form from either of them in the last few weeks. I just feel like maybe their preparation isn't great. Alcaraz has had the better preparation. He's confident as heck.
"When it comes to Novak and Rafa, they're the ones with superior experience and they know how to navigate better than anybody. They know how to manage their emotions, they favour the majors more than anything and they come out of the starting gate ready to play vintage tennis."
There are big question marks over 14-time French Open champion Nadal, who has not played since the second round of the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old was also ruled out of the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami, and missed the clay events in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid.
His withdrawal from Rome was more of a surprise after footage surfaced of the Spaniard freely practising at his academy and his coach Carlos Moya gave an upbeat interview with French newspaper L'Equipe about Nadal's chances of competing in Rome.
Moya said: “Currently, we work more or less an hour and a half a day and continue to improve day by day. It is not even a matter of whether you are an optimist or a pessimist, just that you observe the progress every day.
“We are a little sad that he hasn’t played on clay yet,” Moya continued. “He is the worst, but we try to encourage him and are always optimistic. I think it’s an urban legend that Nadal needs a lot of matches to be ready, when he came back from injury, he always achieved good results.”
Meanwhile, Djokovic opened up about his injury woes in the aftermath of his defeat to Lorenzo Musetti in Monte Carlo.
When speaking at April's Srpska Open in Bosnia, he said: “Naturally, I wasn’t satisfied with the result in Monte Carlo.
“My elbow is not in an ideal shape but good enough to be ready for the first match."
The World No. 1 was subsequently beaten by Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-finals - his most recent outing on clay.
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