Specialists’ picks: Who will win all of it on the French Open?
With the 2019 French Open starting Sunday in Paris, we gathered 14 of our ESPN tennis consultants to glean their data and get their picks for this yr’s event.
Will Rafael Nadal win an astonishing 12th title at Roland Garros or will Novak Djokovic full the “Djoker Slam”? Will Simona Halep repeat or can Kiki Bertens proceed her stellar play and break by way of on the ladies’s facet? Who’re the dark-horse contenders? And is anybody selecting all-time greats Roger Federer or Serena Williams?
This is what our consultants need to say:
Who will win the French Open males’s title?
Patrick McEnroe: Dominic Thiem.
Chris Evert: Rafael Nadal. Onerous to beat in 5 units on clay.
Brad Gilbert: Very robust name on the lads’s winner, particularly with climate points coming the primary week: (1A) Djoker and (1B) Vamos Rafa.
Cliff Drysdale: Rafa. Solely kryptonite or Novak might stop a dozen French Open titles.
Pam Shriver: Since Rafa received Rome taking part in his most constant tennis of his yr and he has received Roland Garros 11 occasions, I’ll go together with Rafa profitable his 12th French Open.
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Darren Cahill: Novak Djokovic. He is taking part in for his personal place in historical past by holding all 4 majors without delay for the second time in his profession. His type is robust, and he seems to be prepared for the bodily and psychological take a look at Roland Garros delivers.
Rennae Stubbs: Nadal. Successful Rome is the proper warm-up to offer him the assumption that he as soon as once more is the favourite. His clay-court type was a bit of worrisome, even for his requirements, however after Rome, I’m positive we’ll see 12 French Open titles on the finish of the 2 weeks for Rafa — and gorgeous if we do.
Peter Bodo: Nadal. Positive, he misplaced just a few matches on clay this yr. However the best-of-five format modifications all the pieces, and you need to take the 11-time French Open champion’s win over Djokovic within the Italian Open final week as an omen.
Bonnie Ford: Nadal. Inconceivable to select in opposition to him. Nonetheless.
Alyssa Roenigk: Djokovic. Though 11-time champ Nadal devoured Djokovic on clay on the Italian Open final weekend, the Spaniard appeared sluggish within the early clay swing, dropping within the semifinal in Barcelona (to Thiem) and Madrid (to Stefanos Tsitsipas). That opens the door for Djokovic, who with a win at Roland Garros will maintain all 4 Grand Slam titles concurrently.
D’Arcy Maine: Searching for his third straight title and 12th general at Roland Garros, can anybody however Nadal actually be thought-about right here? Driving excessive off a powerful win over Djokovic within the Italian Open ultimate, the Spaniard seems to be able to remind everybody simply why he is thought-about the “King of Clay.” And whereas he appears extra beatable than he has been in different years — he misplaced within the semifinals in each Barcelona and Madrid — it nonetheless appears inconceivable to suppose anybody has a greater probability of strolling away with the trophy at Nadal’s favourite event.
Tom Hamilton: Is Nadal’s crown barely slipping? He has discovered himself matched on clay numerous occasions already this yr, however his win in Rome suggests he’s timing his run to perfection. His monopoly of the French Open additionally might function a psychological block for his opponents. Nadal is at residence at Roland Garros and may add a 12th title to his assortment.
Jerry Bembry: It is laborious to select in opposition to Nadal, who enters the French Open contemporary off his Italian Open win over Djokovic. With three straight French Open titles (and 11 of his 17 Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros), the “King of Clay” is the overwhelming favourite.
Simon Cambers: Nadal. Successful Rome confirmed he’s coming good on the proper time. And over 5 units, on clay, he’s nonetheless the person to beat.
Who will win the French Open girls’s title?
Is defending champ Simona Halep the favourite on the ladies’s facet? Chema Moya/EPA
Patrick McEnroe: Simona Halep.
Chris Evert: Halep is probably the most strong and contemporary, lastly.
Brad Gilbert: The ladies’s winner feels utterly huge open. It could possibly be 15 completely different winners, however I’ll take a shot at Kiki Bertens.
Cliff Drysdale: Halep. Completely satisfied ft, nice mover. Stress is off. Has been there, achieved that.
Pam Shriver: I’d be proud of selecting and stating why any one of many prime 15 ranked girls can win in Paris. Since Petra Kvitova has been taking part in constantly effectively and might hit by way of a humid, chilly clay court docket, I’ll choose her to win her first main exterior of Wimbledon.
Darren Cahill: Halep. She is taking part in her favourite main and all the time feels assured on the courts at Roland Garros. She loves the ambiance of Paris and might be robust to beat in what’s a wide-open occasion.
Rennae Stubbs: Halep. I believe that after the event will get going and he or she will get her enamel into it once more, she’s going to present as soon as and for all why her tennis on clay is the perfect. I do not suppose her type is robust sufficient to say she is the overwhelming favourite, but when I needed to choose one, it is her. And like Nadal, she is aware of what it feels prefer to win in Paris.
Peter Bodo: Bertens. The stress on defending champ Halep might be an excessive amount of for her to bear. Bertens, a late bloomer who has come into her personal, confirmed a number of sport — and psychological power — within the spring clay season.
Bonnie Ford: Sloane Stephens. Refreshed by her teaching change, and it is laborious to think about anybody extra motivated if she will get to the ultimate.
Alyssa Roenigk: Halep. The defending French Open champ has seen the ultimate at Roland Garros over the previous two years. Thus far on the purple stuff this season, she reached the ultimate in Madrid and misplaced her opening-round match in Rome. She finds her footing in France and makes a run towards her first title of 2019.
D’Arcy Maine: Bertens is sort of presumably taking part in her finest tennis proper now. The Dutch star is certainly one of simply three gamers to have received a number of tournaments in the course of the fickle 2019 season. At present ranked a career-high No. four on the planet, the 27-year-old knocked off 4 Grand Slam winners, together with Halep within the ultimate, to win her first Premier Obligatory title on the Madrid Open earlier this month, then adopted that up with a semifinal run on the Italian Open. With Halep exhibiting some vulnerabilities amid the expectations, three-time champion Serena Williams having performed only one match on clay main into the event, surging Petra Kvitova coping with a calf harm and reigning US Open and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka not precisely a specialist on the floor, this Grand Slam appears like it’s anybody’s title to win. Bertens reached the semifinals at Roland Garros in 2016, and with momentum very a lot on her facet this time round, she seems to be poised to have a prolonged keep in Paris.
Tom Hamilton: Halep has but to win a event this yr, however she remains to be the participant to beat at Roland Garros. She’s going to really feel unusually comfy in Paris as reigning champion, and her untimely exit in Rome might work to her favor, as she might be well-rested for Paris.
Jerry Bembry: Eight completely different girls have received the previous 9 Slams, which exhibits the parity within the girls’s subject. However search for Halep, who might be the perfect girls’s clay-court participant on the planet at this time, to defend her 2018 French Open title regardless of her current disappointing outing in Rome.
Simon Cambers: Kvitova. She is the in-form participant on tour, and if she will survive her standard nerves within the first couple of rounds, she might be massively harmful.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is taking part in in addition to anybody within the subject and has already overwhelmed Rafael Nadal on clay this yr. Matthew Stockman/Getty Photographs
Who’s your males’s dark-horse contender?
Patrick McEnroe: Fabio Fognini.
Chris Evert: Fognini, nevertheless it’s all Djokovic and Nadal, in order that’s not going to occur.
Brad Gilbert: I am hoping for a younger participant, 21 and beneath, to triumph, however leaning towards Stanimal (Stan Wawrinka).
Cliff Drysdale: Fognini, as a result of he wants this stage to share his dynamic sport and private demons with the world. Plus, I really like watching him.
Pam Shriver: Anybody who has received Roland Garros earlier than within the Rafa period is harmful to win once more. Wawrinka is a confirmed clutch big-match participant. Assuming he stays wholesome, he’s my dark-horse choose.
Darren Cahill: Juan Martin del Potro. Not a lot is predicted of del Potro after getting back from harm, however his match versus Djokovic in Rome ought to give him monumental confidence that he’s again and as harmful as ever.
Rennae Stubbs: Fognini. It is about time he proved himself at a Slam.
Peter Bodo: Daniil Medvedev. The 23-year-old Russian produced constant leads to his rise to the elite degree. Though he misplaced early in Madrid and Rome, he has that old-school “human backboard” consistency that may nonetheless work on clay.
Bonnie Ford: Stefanos Tsitsipas. Unintimidated by huge moments and opponents.
Alyssa Roenigk: Tsitsipas. Though it is a lengthy shot participant exterior the Huge Three will take the title in Paris, if anybody can upset that trio, it is 20-year-old Tsitsipas, who already beat Nadal on clay this yr. (He additionally beat Federer on the Australian Open in January.)
D’Arcy Maine: If Nadal is the “King of Clay,” consider Dominic Thiem as a younger member of the royal household who’s aggressively making his manner up the successional line. The runner-up at Roland Garros in 2018 and the winner of final month’s Barcelona Open — the place he beat Nadal within the semis — the 25-year-old Austrian definitely appears to have the perfect probability to grow to be a first-time Grand Slam winner in Paris. He has superior to a minimum of the semifinal spherical at Roland Garros the previous three years and has overwhelmed Nadal on clay an astonishing 4 occasions in his profession. May this be the yr Thiem lastly knocks Nadal out when it counts most and turns into simply the second non-Huge 4 participant since 2004 to win in France? It appears potential.
Tom Hamilton: Having gotten to the ultimate final yr, Thiem has the power to go one additional and win this time round. He received the Barcelona Open this spring to take a seat alongside his earlier triumph at Indian Wells and can hope to take this run of type to Paris.
Jerry Bembry: Is it honest to label Tsitsipas, the No. 6 participant on the planet, a dark-horse contender? After all it’s, contemplating this 20-year-old from Greece only in the near past emerged as a pressure following his shock semifinal look on the Australian Open. His play on the French Open will reveal simply how a lot his confidence — and sport — have grown.
Simon Cambers: Wawrinka. The three-time Slam winner is nearly again to his finest after harm and is a person who improves as tournaments go on.
Maria Sakkari enters the French Open taking part in effectively, having received in Morocco earlier this month and making the semifinals in Rome final weekend. AFP7/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
Who’s your girls’s dark-horse contender?
Patrick McEnroe: Bianca Andreescu.
Chris Evert: Now, this can be a little more durable choose. I would put Sloane Stephens in there, but when that is too apparent then Belinda Bencic.
Brad Gilbert: Rooting for a younger participant 21 and beneath, however leaning Garbine Muguruza.
Cliff Drysdale: The ladies’s huge shock will come from certainly one of Bencic, Maria Sakkari or Danielle Collins.
Pam Shriver: My darkish horse is No. 15-ranked Bencic. Now wholesome once more, she is exhibiting why Martina Hingis and her mother have all the time favored Bencic’s all-court guile. It might be an irony if this Swiss might win her first main on the solely main Hingis by no means received.
Darren Cahill: Victoria Azarenka is constructing confidence after a sluggish begin to the yr. She has by no means lacked perception and might be harmful if she steps foot into the second week.
Rennae Stubbs: Sakkari. She has performed rather well main into the French, and I believe she might shock right here in Paris.
Peter Bodo: Madison Keys. She has been flying beneath the radar and hasn’t performed particularly effectively in Europe, however she was a semifinalist final yr and might maintain her personal with the high-profile “energy sport” contenders: Bertens, Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova.
Bonnie Ford: Kvitova. Only a hunch.
Alyssa Roenigk: Kiki Bertens. With a win in Madrid, the place she beat Halep within the ultimate, and a semifinal look in Rome, Bertens is within the midst of the perfect season of her profession. At present ranked No. four on the planet, the 27-year-old Dutch participant as soon as generally known as a clay-court specialist is one to observe in Paris.
D’Arcy Maine: With no apparent favourite within the girls’s draw, it appears like a case could possibly be made for just about any of the highest 20 or so gamers to be the darkish horse to observe. So actually, flip a coin. Nevertheless, Ashleigh Barty, ranked No. eight on the planet, definitely must be on everybody’s record to contemplate. The Australian received the most important title of her profession in Miami earlier this spring, and whereas she did not win any of the lead-up tournaments, she did take residence a doubles title with Victoria Azarenka on the Italian Open, and gave the impression to be discovering her groove on the floor all through the occasion. She withdrew from this week’s Internationaux de Strasbourg on account of a proper arm harm, however that feels extra precautionary than something, and he or she says she nonetheless plans to play at Roland Garros.
Tom Hamilton: Bertens beat Halep in Madrid earlier this month and reached the semifinals of the Italian Open. She has spoken brazenly about her shift in psychological strategy, and with this newfound self-belief, anticipate her to be a characteristic within the closing phases at Roland Garros.
Jerry Bembry: In a girls’s subject dominated by a protracted record of massive names (Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams and Halep), it is easy to miss Muguruza, certainly one of simply 4 gamers to win a number of Slams since 2016 (Angelique Kerber has three; Muguruza, Serena Williams and Osaka every has two). Muguruza demonstrated that clay is her favourite floor along with her 2016 title on the French Open (which adopted quarterfinal appearances at Roland Garros in 2014 and 2015).
Simon Cambers: Sakkari. As she confirmed in reaching the Rome semifinals, the Greek is enhancing quick and has the power and expertise to go far.