Rafael Nadal warned over one player who can trouble him at French Open by former champion

Rafael Nadal has been warned over the one player left in the French Open draw that can trouble him. The 13-time champion defeated long-time rival Novak Djokovic in four sets on Thursday and now faces Alexander Zverev, but former champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov believes the only man who can worry the Spaniard is in the other half of the draw.

Nadal got revenge over Djokovic after losing to the world No 1 in last year's French Open in the semi-final stage, and will play third seed Zverev for a spot in the final. But 1996 champion Kafelnikov has admitted he doesn't think the German will worry the world No 5, and believes the only man who can trouble Nadal now is Casper Ruud.

"As much as I love Sasha Zverev, I don't think there is a chance against Nadal," the retired former world No 1 told SportKlub. "The only one who can bother Rafa - believe it or not - is Casper Ruud. I think he has the necessary style of play and can play a long match"

But Kafelnikov still thought the French Open was now Nadal's to lose, calling him the "absolute favourite" for the title. "When we get to the later stages, when he smells the opportunity, he plays at 150 per cent," he added.

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With Ruud in the other half of the draw, he still needs to get through a quarter-final against 19-year-old Holger Rune and a potential semi-final against either Marin Cilic or Andrey Rublev to reach the final, where he could face Nadal if the Spaniard beats Zverev on what will be his 36th birthday.

Kafelnikov also weighed in on the 59th meeting between Djokovic and Nadal and admitted that last year's champion was too relaxed at some moments in the match, allowing Nadal to get himself back in it