French Open 2020: Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - the top favorites in lockstep
Dominic Thiem , Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have so far more than just done their favorite role at the French Open 2020. None of the three superstars had to give up a set in the first two rounds.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Oct 01, 2020, 09:05 pm
There were already a lot of surprises on the first five tournament days at this year's French Open. In the women's category, Karolina Pliskova, who was seeded second, had to pack her bags, and Serena Williams is no longer in the tournament due to an injury . On the men's side, both Denis Shapovalov and Daniil Medvedev were hit.
So far, however, the three men who had been considered the top favorites for the title in the run-up to the tournament were completely unimpressed by the multitude of surprises: From the trio Dominic Thiem , Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, no representative has yet had to submit a single sentence.
Thiem against Sock shortly before the first set loss
The closest thing to adding a minor blemish to this flawless record was the newly crowned US Open winner. Dominic Thiem was confronted with three set balls in the tie-break of the third set against Jack Sock, but knew how to fend off all of them and thus keep the pure white vest.
thiemsock
It was also the only set to date in which a player from the top favorite trio played more than four games. Nadal's and Djokovic's results are even more impressive than those of the Austrian - probably due to the somewhat simpler draw.
Nadal and Djokovic are waiting for the first test
The Spanish clay court king only lost 14 games, his Serbian rival only lost ten games on the way to the third round. Thiem had to accept a game loss against Marin Cilic and Jack Sock 20 times.
While a big challenge awaits Thiem with Casper Ruud ( Friday, from 11:00 a.m. on the Tennisnet ticker ), it cannot be assumed that the task ahead will be more arduous than the previous tournament for his two biggest competitors for the title: Nadal meets Stefano Travaglia in the third round, Djokovic meets Daniel Elahi Galan.
Here the single tableau in Paris
rg2020