iol.co.za
by Bill Barclay
May 10, 2024
Hamburg, Germany - Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal has rejected suggestions that he is the clear favourite for this month's French Open.
The 18-year-old, who pulled out of this week's Hamburg Masters with a blistered racket hand, has been in sensational form on clay in recent weeks and has won his last three tournaments to reach number five in the world rankings.
Nadal, though, will playing at Roland Garros for the first time when the claycourt grand slam gets underway in Paris on May 23.
Asked if he believed he was favourite the Spaniard replied: "No. I have always said the favourite for Roland Garros will be the player who plays the best tennis there.
"I'm playing pretty good right now but in two weeks' time you never know which player will be the best then.
"Obviously it's very important for me, it's a grand slam and I haven't been able to play in it before. All I want to do is go there, play 100 percent and win a few matches."
Nadal hopes to be able resume training later this week, provided the nasty blister on his left hand has healed.
He pulled out of the Hamburg event shortly after arriving in Germany on Monday following a medical examination.
"You could say it's positive I'm resting a bit," he said.
The Spaniard admits he is having trouble sleeping following his run of success.
"I had a tough time getting to sleep after the Rome final (on Sunday)," he said.
"Five months ago I would never have thought that I would be in the top 10 and win two big tournaments like Monte Carlo and Rome. If you win these tournaments you are in tennis history. It hasn't really sunk in what I've achieved in the last few weeks."
Nadal's growing army of admirers includes world number one Roger Federer, who will be the top seed at the French Open, an event the 23-year-old Swiss has yet to win.
"He's fantastic," Federer said of his young rival. "At his age, to do what he's doing is great. We haven't had a guy doing that for many years. Not since Lleyton (Hewitt) and maybe (Marat) Safin."
Federer is also well aware of Nadal's presence on court, having had to come from two sets and break down to defeat the Spaniard in the Nasdaq-100 Open final last month.
"It's good for the game, he has a lot of energy. I'm looking forward to more battles with him," said the Swiss.
Federer, who has won 36 of his 38 matches this year and is the defending champion in Hamburg, won his first-round match easily on Monday.
In the second round he could face Czech teenager Tomas Berdych, the player who knocked him out of the Athens Olympic tournament last year.
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