tennis gut

Rafael Nadal Invitational – 25 May 2019 As we look toward another French Open at Roland Garros, is Nadal still the unstoppable force on clay he has been for the last decade and a half?   Surprisingly, he lost three European clay warm-up tournaments this spring, but he found his best form last week and claimed the title in Rome.   His supposed vulnerability, trumpeted by the commentariat for six weeks, now looks ephemeral.   He has peaked at the perfect time to extend his dominance to a record-shattering 12 th title at a single slam.   Who will be his biggest challengers? First Quarter Alexander Zverev (seeded 5) had a reasonable start to the year making his first ever fourth round at a hard court slam, in Melbourne.   But since losing the final in Acapulco to Kyrgios, he had only 6 wins against 8 losses through Rome last week.   But this week he has claimed the small 250 title in Geneva and he did make the quarters in Madrid, so on balance, it...

French Open 2019 Women’s Draw – 26 May 2019 There is no favourite.   Although women’s tennis often feels wide open, the clay season usually nominates a few hot hands that end up doing well at Roland Garros in Paris.   But even in the free-for-all that has accompanied the twilight of Serena’s dominance, 2019 has been particularly brutal for the oddsmakers.   There are six different women who could hold the #1 ranking when the tournament ends and about 20 who have a reasonable shot at the title. First Quarter Naomi Osaka (seeded 1) headlines a slam draw for the first time as the top seed.   She’s halfway to a non-calendar grand slam, laying claim to both the Australian and US Open titles, seemingly out of nowhere.   She has held the world #1 ranking for 18 weeks and, with the points lead in hand, has the best shot to emerge with it in two weeks time.   Clay has not been her forte, but this year she appears to be finding her footing on it, albeit ...