French Open 2018: the King of Clay is unstoppable
The 2018 French Open, a tennis tournament on clay courts, also known as Roland Garros, is taking place right now. It began on May 27th and the last game takes place on June 10th. By this Thursday Round 2 has ended, and Round 3 starts at 7 a.m. on Friday, June 1st (SPORTINGNEWS). The conspicuous player, Rafael Nadal, is playing against Guido Pella in Round 2, and there and there seem to be no doubts that he will win the game and clear his path all the way towards the final championship.
Rafael Nadal, born in Manacor, Spain, is a legendary professional tennis player. He has won 16 Grand Slams during his life, and is currently ranked world No. 1 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is also widely regarded as the “King of Clay”, remarking his success in the previous sessions.
There was only one person who could match with Nadal’s success－Roger Federer. Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player, currently ranked world No. 2 by the ATP. He is the owner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, which is the most in history for a male player.
The two best tennis players have close scores every time they have a competition, but the overall wins and loses seem to favor Nadal more. In 2017 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Shanghai, Federer defeated Nadal and earned himself the championship of that tournament. However, Federer announced that he quit soon after the game, leaving Nadal a bright path of becoming the 2018 French Open champion.
Most people expect Nadal to win one more title during this tournament. As Jason Qiu (ET 11C) stated, “Rafa is the true king on clay courts. It will be no surprise if he wins his 11th French Open title.” The results of 2018 French Open remains unknown, but the tournament would sure be stirring to watch.
Featured image – Rafael Nadal in 2012 French Open courtesy of Yann Caradec via Flickr