The French Open has three favorites but the second tier of potential champions has a bigger field. The Tennis Review looks at five players who could be King of Clay at Roland Garros and assesses their chances of winning the French Open 2015.
Andy Murray Semi-finalist 2014, 2011 Quarter-finalist 2012, 2009
Murray leads the pack of contenders as a multiple slam champion and a player with a solid history at Roland Garros. The world No.3 has made two semi-finals and two quarter-finals and in his seven defeats in Paris, only the game’s best have beaten him- Nadal (x2), Ferrer, Amalgro, Berdych, Monfils and Gonzales.
This year, on the back of his wins at the ATP 250 Munich Open and the ATP 1000 Madrid Open, Murray is touted as one of the favorites However, while winning his first clay court titles in his career and defeating Nadal in straight sets in an ATP 1000 final were impressive feats, Murray won only one match at an ATP 1000 slow clay tournament and had to pull out of his last sixteen match in Rome with fatigue.
However, we did not need a fine slow clay court showing from Murray this season to tell us what we already know- Murray has always been a good slow clay court player. Watch his past Rome battles with Nadal and Djokovic for evidence, but he has never made a slow clay court final, nor has be made the Roland Garros finals.
In every one of his Roland Garros campaigns, Murray has been beaten by a superior player on the surface, and with Djokovic arguably playing the best tennis of his career, and Federer a recent Rome finalist, it is hard imagining him getting past either of them in the later stages of the tournament, and winning an ATP 250 event where his toughest opponent was Kohlschreiber, or a fast clay ATP 1000 does not change that.
Still, if either Djokovic or Federer slip up, and Nadal’s poor form continues, Murray will be there, solid and smart as ever, ready to take his first French Open title.
David Ferrer Runner-up 2013, Semi-finalist 2012, Quarter-finalist 2014, 2008, 2005
David Ferrer has been having a good year in 2015- he has three titles (Acapulco, Rio, Doha) and is 10-4 on clay going into Roland Garros.
Ferrer is a former finalist at the event, will be seeded eighth, and none of the top four seeds will relish facing him, particularly Murray and Berdych. Ferrer would have to hope to get one of those two in the draw, though, as his chances of defeating Djokovic or Federer are much more limited.
However, if Ferrer does get some lucky breaks, there are fewer men who have worked harder on Clay to earn them. Ferrer is a former finalist, has won 12 clay court titles, been runner up at Monte Carlo (2011) and Rome (2010).
The biggest question mark over Ferrer though is his mentality. After losing to Nadal at last year’s French Open, Ferrer admitted he did not believe he could win the match and gave up. Those who give up, in the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic age, do not win slams and unless Ferrer approaches every match at this year’s French Open with the belief he can win, then being the 2013 French Open runner-up will remain his greatest career achievement.
Kei Nishikori
Nishikori won the ATP 500 Barcelona Open leading up to Roland Garros, and has been touted as a favorite at the last five slams now.
His win over Novak Djokovic in the U.S Open last season on his way to the final certainly backs up those speculations. However, there is a big question mark over his fitness- he went down tamely to an in-form Cilic in the final and has often failed to maintain his best play over the course of a match that has gone the distance.
There are also doubts as to his ability to handle the pressure of being a slam favorite. At last year’s French Open, he suffered a shock defeat in the first round and at this year’s Australian Open he did not perform against Stan Wawrinka in their much anticipated quarter-final.
Tomas Berdych Semi-finalist 2010, Quarter-finalist 2014.
Berdych made a change to his coaching team this season, hiring Murray’s former assistant coach Daniel Vallverdu. That change has paid off in some respects with Berdych putting in some career best performances, achieving a career high ranking of 4, and reaching the Monte Carlo final where he took a set off Djokovic.
However, one thing has not changed much- Berdych’s ability to handle the pressure at the very top of the game. His Australian Open performance versus Murray was a big let down, and he has performed poorly in big matches versus Federer in Miami and Nadal in Madrid.
Berdych is the game’s cleanest ball striker, and when he is on, he can beat anyone. But he has yet to prove he can do it in a big final. This year, with Djokovic in such stellar form, Berdych would have to play the match of his life to win the French Open. That is highly unlikely to happen, but this is sport where anything can happen, and if that anything was a Berdych win in Paris, it would be quite spectacular.
Stan Wawrinka Quarter-finalist 2013
Wawrinka has been quite open about not handling the pressure of winning his first slam last season, and his first round defeat in the French Open last year was concrete proof of that.
But that Australian Open 2014 win was a while ago now, and the streaky player has been putting his game back together. Wawrinka made the ATP World Tour finals Semis where he played one of the matches of the year against Federer, took Djokovic to five sets in Melbourne this year, won titles in Chennai and Rotterdam and beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets in Rome.
Those highs, though, have been punctuated by some lows– Wawrinka lost the fifth set against Djokovic to love, put in a dismal performance in his Rome semi versus Federer, won three games versus Dimitrov in Monte Carlo and was upset early in both Miami and Indian Wells.
If Wawrinka is due another fine streak, it could come in Paris. His 2014 Monte Carlo title and his 2008 Runner up showing in Rome show he can play on slow red clay. Also, while his record at the French Open is anything but remarkable, his record at the Australian Open was similar before he won it.
Commentary by Christian Deverille.
If you liked this article, read this: French Open 2015 The Favorites Novak Djokovic Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
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