The Rome tournament (men and women) is over. Preparations for the French Open are winding down, with some players taking place in small tournaments because they need match play before Roland Garros begins on Sunday. What are the biggest stories in tennis under one week before the French Open? Here are four of them.
Alexander Zverev Makes History
There hasn’t been a Masters 1000 champion as young as Alexander Zverev since Novak Djokovic won Miami in 2007 at age 19. Zverev turned 20 years old in April, and when he played Djokovic on Sunday in the Rome final, he was not expected to win. Yet, he had some surprises in store for the World No. 2, unleashing a flawless performance in a 6-4, 6-3 win which dramatically heightened his stock in men’s tennis. Zverev collected a very rare Masters 1000 title not won by one of the so-called “Big Four” of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Djokovic. Very few men outside the Big Four have managed to win Masters or Grand Slam titles over the past nine years, which is why Zverev’s win is getting so much attention.
Halep Hurt In Rome Final
The clay-court campaign of Simona Halep heading into Roland Garros was right on schedule. Halep won in Madrid, then reached the final of Rome, and won the first set of her final against Elina Svitolina… but then came an injury which has cast a cloud over her season. Halep rolled her ankle, enough to dramatically affect her movement. She lost the second set and had nothing to offer in the third set. She probably should have retired from the match at that point, but since it was a final, she didn’t want to. It is harder to view Halep as a Roland Garros favorite in light of this result.
Djokovic Tabs Agassi As Coach
The French Open got even more interesting than it already was when Novak Djokovic chose Andre Agassi to join his coaching team at the tournament. The length of the partnership was not specified, but the two men seemed to hit it off well after having private conversations to explore the possibility of a coaching relationship. Agassi is known for being one of the better players of the Open Era – not just on his own terms, but specifically in terms of playing well after turning 30 years old. Djokovic turned 30 on Monday, so the attractiveness of Agassi as a source of advice is obvious.
Nadal Loses First Match In Over Six Weeks
The last time Rafael Nadal lost a tennis match, he was playing Roger Federer on hardcourts in Miami at the very start of April. Then he entered the clay season, where he has always been extremely tough to beat. Nadal won Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Madrid in succession, collecting trophies left and right. In the Rome quarterfinals, everybody wondered if Nadal could keep the train rolling. Instead, Dominic Thiem derailed it. Does this loss mean Nadal is in big trouble, or will it simply give him more rest for the French Open? We’ll find out soon enough.
Kyrgios Stunned In Lyon
Nick Kyrgios has had a career mired by all sorts of off-court issues and inconsistency on it. There’s no question that if he put everything together that he could be a Top 10 player. However, the story of his career will be that of a player that continues to underachieve.
The latest addition to the bad column was a second-round loss in the Lyon Open. Kyrgios entered as the World’s No. 19 ranked player and as the No. 4 in the tournament. However, he couldn’t hang with 94th-ranked Nicolas Kicker, who ousted him in three sets. In fairness, Kicker is somewhat of a clay-court specialist as he is 6-4 on clay this season. However, this should be a more than manageable opponent for Kyrgios, who had been 15-6 in his main tour draw matchups this season.
This sheds a negative light on Kyrgios’ chances at the French Open. While some people thought he could be a dark horse, it looks like he’s just a player to avoid these days when you’re betting on someone to win a tournament.
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