PARIS, May 27 (Xinhua) — With Rafael Nadal saying his withdrawal from the French Open attributable to harm, that is the primary time since 2005 that the Spaniard won’t characteristic at Roland Garros. This 12 months’s clay-court main is thus destined to turn out to be a turning level in match historical past.
But for Chinese tennis followers, it’s extra like a milestone to be remembered – for the primary time within the Open period, three Chinese males shall be competing in the primary draw. Additionally, Zheng Qinwen, who returned right here because the nineteenth seed after a surprising run into the spherical of 16 final 12 months, will lead a bunch of 5 Chinese gamers within the girls’s singles competitors.
For the ladies’s singles, there isn’t any doubt Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka will characteristic as title favourites, with some observers contemplating them the brand new Big Three of girls’s tennis.
CHINESE MEN’S SINGLES TRIO MAKE HISTORY
No males’s singles participant from mainland China has appeared on the pink clay at Roland Garros because the Open period, and that historical past shall be modified in 2023. With Shang Juncheng bagging three consecutive victories within the qualifying rounds, the 18-year-old joined Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen, who had already certified instantly by the rankings, to compete in the primary draw.
In a few months, Chinese males’s tennis has been making breakthroughs. 23-year-old Wu received 5 matches in a row from the qualifiers on the US Open final 12 months, changing into the primary mainland Chinese male participant to win a match at a Grand Slam singles most important draw and attain the final 32 within the Open period. This 12 months, he continued to soar, profitable the title in Dallas in February to turn out to be the primary Chinese man to seize an ATP Tour singles title.
At the Geneva Open, only a week earlier than the beginning of this 12 months’s French Open, Wu once more reached the final eight, exhibiting good aggressive type. He will land in Paris with a world rating of 59th, the very best among the many three Chinese opponents.
Zhang and Shang have additionally proven good latest type. At the Madrid Masters, Zhang noticed off numerous seeded gamers in succession, reaching the quarterfinals to turn out to be the primary Chinese participant to attain this feat within the ATP 1000 occasion. Shang, the youngest of the three, had a formidable efficiency on the Australian Open earlier this 12 months, reaching the second spherical.
Moreover, a possible Chinese derby is in sight if each Wu and Shang undergo within the first spherical.
On the ladies’s aspect, 20-year-old Zheng, who made a giant splash on the French Open final season when she made all of it the best way to the spherical of 16 earlier than shedding to world No. 1 Swiatek, would be the focus once more. The nineteenth seed will face a qualifier within the first spherical, whereas one other seeded Chinese participant, Zhang Shuai, will tackle Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
In addition, Wang Xinyu, Wang Xiyu and Zhu Lin can even take part on this 12 months’s girls’s most important draw. This 12 months at Roland Garros, China has an unprecedentedly sturdy lineup, and their efficiency is price trying ahead to.
ROLAND GARROS WITHOUT NADAL – AN END OF THE ERA
The absence of Nadal at Roland Garros for the primary time since 2005 is probably the most regrettable news of this 12 months’s French Open. The Spaniard has made a deep mark on the match along with his extraordinary achievements over the previous 18 years – 112 victories in 115 matches, 14 finals and 14 titles – no participant in males’s tennis has ever been so dominant in a single match.
Since taking part on this 12 months’s Australian Open, the 37-year-old has not been in a position to play any tournaments, and earlier this month, Nadal formally introduced that he wouldn’t play within the French Open and different tournaments within the coming months so as to make a greater restoration. He additionally revealed that “2024 will be his last season”, that means his followers should still have an official farewell to him at Roland Garros subsequent 12 months.
While Nadal is lacking, his outdated rival Novak Djokovic has additionally fallen right into a worrying run since profitable his twenty second Grand Slam title on the Australian Open earlier this 12 months, because the Serbian has not received any title since. Coming to the clay swing, the two-time French Open champion has performed in three tournaments with a greatest results of reaching the final eight in Rome.
The older greats are nearing the top of their careers, whereas the brand new era, represented by Carlos Alcaraz, are taking over the mantle left by their predecessors. Last season, at 19, Alcaraz took the French Open by storm, and after profitable the US Open final 12 months, he additionally grew to become the youngest males’s singles world primary in historical past.
Another Spaniard, additionally constructing his fame firstly of his profession on clay, Alcaraz has been seen as the subsequent Nadal. In this 12 months’s French Open, he would be the prime seed in the identical half with third seed Djokovic, and the 2 could meet within the semifinals, however earlier than that, Alcaraz is more likely to encounter 2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Over the previous few years, the top of the “Big Three” period has been mentioned again and again. But within the 20 Grand Slam tournaments previous to this 12 months’s French Open, solely Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem have managed to win the US Open up to now three years. For the opposite 17, Djokovic received 10 titles, Nadal took six, and Roger Federer additionally obtained his final and twentieth Grand Slam on the 2018 Australian Open.
But this 12 months, the dialogue to this query appears to return to an finish. The French Open could also be marked as a turning level.
WOMEN’S SINGLES “BIG THREE” IS COMING?
The males’s “Big Three” period is coming to an finish, however there may be already loads of chatter in regards to the “new Big Three” within the girls’s singles – in 21-year-old Swiatek, 25-year-old Sabalenka and 23-year-old Rybakina.
Since Serena Williams light away from the game, girls’s tennis had entered right into a time of pretty open competitors. Naomi Osaka received 4 Grand Slams, however her type has slipped up to now two years. Three-time Grand Slam champion Ash Barty was hopeful of changing into the brand new queen, however selected to retire from the world No. 1 place simply after profitable the Australian Open final 12 months.
After Barty’s retirement, Poland’s Swiatek, Sabalenka of Belarus and Kazakhstan’s Rybakina have turn out to be the brand new leaders in girls’s tennis, and the three have shared the final 4 Grand Slam titles.
“They’ve kind of separated themselves a little bit from the rest of the pack,” mentioned Jessica Pegula, the 29-year-old American who’s ranked No. 3, shedding to Swiatek within the quarterfinals final 12 months at each the French Open and US Open.
Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, put it merely on Friday: “They are the best three players that we have right now.”
The three have met one another a number of instances to this point this 12 months, totally on the ultimate stage. In the tune-up tournaments earlier than the French Open, Swiatek defeated Sabalenka within the ultimate in Stuttgart, however misplaced within the ultimate on the Madrid Open two weeks later. Rybakina was the champion in the latest Rome Open.
Of course, in contrast with the achievements of the boys’s “Big Three”, the three girls nonetheless have a really lengthy approach to go. But this 12 months at Roland Garros, something can occur.