tennis gut

  I’ve long said, “never pick against Nadal at the French.”   Could this be the year? Novak Djokovic is the youngest living man to have won a Roland Garros singles title.   With the emergence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz it’s felt like we might be moving into a new era of dominant players.   Yet, this French Open title feels wide open. There are eight men, by my count, that have strong chance to win.   Someone else outside this group could do it too, of course; but it would be a big surprise.   And all eight contenders have question marks and caveats hanging over their heads. Novak Djokovic is the #1 seed and defending champ but he hasn’t won a title or even made a tournament final this year.   His losses have looked baffling, and after having a metal water bottle dropped on his head in Rome, there are suspicions he has a concussion.   With the field in disarray, normally Djokovic would be a shoo-in for favourite status at a slam. ...

  Word among the pundits and commentators is that Roland Garros 2024 is Swiatek’s to lose.   She’s won three of the last four French Open’s and four 1000-level tournaments this year.   The bookies have her as a 1.61 (3/5) favourite for the title.   So is this an open and shut case?   The primary contender is likely to be Aryna Sabalenka.   Sabalenka already won the Australian Open this year, and was finalist to Swiatek in the last two big tournaments, Madrid and Rome, both on clay.   In her runner-up speech in Rome, Sabalenka said she wanted to reverse the result in Paris.   If they reproduce the quality of their Madrid clash in which Swiatek saved three match-points, Sabalenka could well emerge with the first half of a Grand Slam for the year. However, Elena Rybakina should not be neglected.   She doled out Swiatek’s sole loss on clay this year, and owns a winning head-to-head 4-2 over Iga.   And of course there’s current US Open ch...