Paris: Contender for the La Decima (10th title) here Rafa Nadal has admitted he is wary of the first round threat posed by his opponent, Frenchman Benoit Praire. The man expected to challenge Nadal for his maiden title at Roland Garros, Andy Murray, however, is hoping to recover from a sudden bout of illness that laid him low from Tuesday to Friday.
Nadal, has been in tremendous form during the clay season winning 17 matches in a row. However, he is the first to admit that Paire is a gifted player anyone should handle with care.
“He is not an opponent you want to play against in the first round,” Nadal told a news conference Friday evening. “A player with big talent. Great serve, great hands. Fantastic backhand, no? He is a dangerous opponent. Yeah, that’s it. I need to play my best.”
Nadal, whose last title in Paris came in 2014, however, pointed out that he is happy with his form this season.
“It’s true that since the beginning of the season, I am happy the way that I played. I think I played well in almost every event that I have been in,” said Nadal, who turns 31 next month.
“I played well on hard (court). Then played great on clay, happy about the events that I won. The three events I have won have been very important for me,” he added, referring to the Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid titles on his favourite surface.
Murray is confident he will recover in time for his first match Monday. He faces Russian Andrey Kuznetsov in his first round match.
“Tuesday and Wednesday didn’t feel great. I started to feel a bit sick,” the Scot was quoted as saying by the French media here Saturday. “I feel much better just now. I’ve just got a cough now, but I was just a bit sick for a couple of days. It’s been frustrating, obviously, not being able to train properly… but I feel okay now. I will be all good when the tournament starts.”
Reuters
