Rafael Nadal: Five clay matches, three wins, no titles - will 21-time Grand Slam champion challenge at French Open?

Rafael Nadal has won the French Open in all kinds of ways. He’s won it as a teenager, he’s won it without dropping a set, he’s won it as the overwhelming favourite, he’s won it against Roger Federer, he’s won it against Novak Djokovic, he’s won it against Robin Soderling. Only once has he won it without winning another clay event beforehand that season, and that was in 2020 when the French Open was pushed back to October.

Ad/> For once, history is not on Nadal’s side in Paris. And nor is time. Roland-GarrosMats Wilander — 'There was no Wilander hype in '82 like there is with Alcaraz' — Legends' Voice4 HOURS AGO Nadal has appeared to be in a race against time to be fit for the French Open ever since he suffered a rib injury at Indian Wells in late March.

On his return in Madrid he was playing catch-up — “like a little bit of pre-season” he said – and at the Italian Open his hopes of a record-extending 22 Grand Slam title next month took a hit as he limped and grimaced during a three-set defeat to Denis Shapovalov. It wasn’t a new injury, said Nadal, but the return of a chronic foot issue, known as Müller-Weiss disease, which he has apparently been living with since his first French Open win in 2005. How to watch and stream French open draw Djokovic and son Stefan win tournament on same day “I had my foot again with a lot of pain,” Nadal said afterwards.

“I am a player living with an injury; it is nothing new. It's something that is there. Unfortunately my day-by-day is difficult, honestly… it’s difficult for me to accept the situation sometimes.” On his French Open hopes, Nadal added: “What can happen in the next couple of days, I don't know.