French Open without Nadal - who will lift the trophy in 2023?

The French Open or Roland Garros is the only clay court tournament among the Grand Slam tournaments during the year. From May 28 to June 11, 2023, the games will take place in Paris this year. In the men's tournament, 128 players will face each other at the beginning or in the first round, who will play each other out of the tournament in the knockout system until only two are left for the final match at the end. Who has a good chance of lifting the coveted trophy this year? I took a look at the first 64 matches and 128 players and made a first rough analysis.

Changing of the guard?

Yes, I think you can talk about that slowly but surely. The eternal winning trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have delivered incredible matches and broken record after record over the last 20-25 years, but their end seems to have come. Federer has already retired in 2022. Rafael Nadal already had to forfeit the Australian Open due to injury and has not recovered to this day, which is why he had to cancel the tournament. And Novak Djokovic is fighting and is in Paris, but in recent tournaments he has cursed and argued with the referees more than he has won confidently. He does show confidence and with Novak Djokovic you really never know, but the ravages of time are gnawing at him too. It seems a young new generation wants to and will take the lead in world tennis and this will probably show at Roland Garros.

Favorites?

So who could be the favorites to win Roland Garros in 2023? The first to be mentioned is the current No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz. The ambitious young Spaniard has the bite, the ambition and indeed the lungs to make it. Of course, luck is also a factor in the tournament for one player or another, sometimes more and sometimes less. The current number 10, Felix Auger-Aliassime, will certainly play an important role in the tournament, but I don't trust him to win in Paris yet. Stefanos Tsitsipas is certainly one of the crown favorites in Paris. The 1.93 m tall Greek has an important say in Grand Slam tournaments. The 11th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov is always good for a surprise. He is tough and tenacious and a real fighter. He could become a surprise candidate. Holger Rune is the name of the next cup contender. The aggressive Dane just won the clay court tournament in Munich about a month ago. the current number 6 in world tennis is a fire hazard. And then there are the Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, who will surely enter the final rounds. But whether it will be enough to reach the very front, I still have some doubts. Norwegian Casper Ruud, seeded No. 4, still has a score to settle with the tournament. Last year he faced Rafael Nadal in the final and many thought that Nadal would go down now, but he managed to defeat the Norwegian in 3 sets with his unique energy. The latter is now looking for revenge and seems to be in good shape, having won the clay court tournament in Estoril, Portugal in April. This is the second attempt to reach the final for Casper Ruud. Italy's Jannik Sinner, seeded 8th, is also showing good form and will cause shouts and cheers in the tournament, but whether it will be enough to reach the final is questionable. German Alexander Zverev is unlikely to achieve much in Paris. He has remained winless in 2022 and has slipped to 22nd place. He has only attracted attention with uncontrolled outbursts of rage. Last but not least, we want to mention the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who is currently ranked second in the world. The Russian is a real tough dog and won't be beaten in a hurry. I don't really see him in the final, but his victory at the ATP 1000 clay court tournament in Rome about a week ago catapulted him to the top of the rankings, where he beat favorites like Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas.