There won't be a new Rafael Nadal on clay, says Monte Carlo Masters chief
Will there ever be a Rafael Nadal's heir in tennis? The Spaniard won 11 French Opens and he will bid to conquer his 12th crown this year. "There will be not a Nadal's heir as a player or character", said the Monte Carlo Masters tournament director Zeljko Franulovic in an interview to We Love Tennis. "It' also impossible to find a new Nadal on clay, that became a surface like others. There are less clay-courts specialists, on the contrary of what you could see in the past with Spaniards or Italians. The current Tour makes you flexible. Djokovic plays well on clay the way he does on hard or grass, as well as Zverev and Thiem as well who just won in Indian Wells."
There have been several different winners in the tournaments played this year. What does it mean? "It's absolutely unbelievable, probably an exception. That's not normal, on the best days of the Big Four that was impossible. This is a sign of change for tennis. But it had to happen. Federer is 37 years old, Nadal and Djokovic are 32 and 31 years old."
Gael Monfils can also make an upset in the tournament. "Totally, Monfils can be considered as a favourite. He has the game to win here and he is in very good shape. Now, with Gael, the only problem is his physical shape. He won a lot of matches and he had a setback in Indian Wells. He can bring a good momentum in Monte Carlo and why not looking to win."
Nadal will be back in action in Monte Carlo where he features as a top favourite.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2TJEtvu
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