{"id":2528,"date":"2017-06-02T10:08:07","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T14:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=2528"},"modified":"2017-06-02T11:13:34","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T15:13:34","slug":"david-goffin-also-roland-garros-going-challenge-four-favorites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2017\/06\/02\/david-goffin-also-roland-garros-going-challenge-four-favorites\/","title":{"rendered":"David Goffin Also Out of Roland Garros; Who is Left to Challenge the Four Favorites?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whereas on the WTA side the draw seems open as ever, with big chances for nearly anyone to make a deep run, the ATP situation at Roland Garros<\/strong> seems radically different.
\nIndeed, the hegemony of the four favorites seems quite ensured, with some big names who could challenge them already out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Honestly, who\u2019s having least problems is definitely Rafael Nada<\/strong>l. After the titles in Barcellona<\/strong>, Monte Carlo<\/strong>, and Madrid<\/strong>, the big favorite for the title is without any doubt the Spaniard. La D\u00e9cima seems affordable for Nadal. His biggest threat, up to the third round, seemed to be Benoit Paire<\/strong>, a local unpredictable player who could always play the best match of his life. Though, things really didn\u2019t go that way, and the Spaniard eased past him in three quick sets.<\/p>\n

Roberto Bautista Agut<\/strong>, a good clay court player who awaits Nadal in the fourth round, shouldn\u2019t be a big problem for him, and then he\u00a0could face Milos Raonic<\/strong> in the quarterfinals. Surely, his big serves are quite neutralized by the surface, and honestly I can\u2019t see him troubling the Spanish player. Fortunately for him, Nadal avoided Grigor Dimitrov<\/strong>, semifinalist at the Australian Open<\/strong>, who exited the tournament early thank to his defeat against Pablo Carreno Busta<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nadal\u2019s potential semifinals opponent is going to be Novak Djokovic<\/strong>. The Serb\u2019s quarterfinal was, on paper, the worst one. Indeed, he could face either Dominic Thiem<\/strong>, who defeated Nadal in Rome<\/strong> \u2013 causing him his only loss on clay this year \u2013 or David Goffin<\/strong>, who ousted Djokovic earlier this year in Monte Carlo. However, Goffin suffered a terrible injury today in his match against Horacio Zaballos<\/strong>, and was forced to retire during the first set. The Belgian badly fell after a slide, rolling his ankle, and left his match not even able to walk on his own. It was a terrible moment for him, and hopefully he recovers quickly.<\/p>\n

Hence, the biggest threat for Djokovic remains Thiem. The Austrian already made it to the semis last year, defeated by Djokovic. However, since the Serb\u2019s poor shape this year, and given Thiem\u2019s enormous hype on clay, I\u2019d say that, if this match up happens, Thiem is going to be the favorite. And I\u2019d say this even though two weeks ago Djokovic destroyed Thiem in the semifinals of Rome.<\/p>\n

Top Half of Draw<\/h2>\n

As far as the top half of the draw is concerned, the situation seems definitely more calm. #1 seed Andy Murray<\/strong>, who\u2019s been struggling all year to get good results, has been struggling in the first rounds, too. Indeed, he lost a set both to Kuznetsov<\/strong> and Klizan<\/strong>, though he was thoroughly good to prevent the last one from taking also the fourth set, coming back from 2-5 and winning it in the tiebreak.<\/p>\n

His\u00a0third-round opponent is going to be Juan Martin Del Potro<\/strong>. On paper, this is definitely a though one. Though, physical conditions of the Argentinian are far from good right now, and honestly winning against the #1 in the world seems too much for Delpo. He also struggled with movements in the second round, though his opponent\u2026 struggled far more, and ended up retiring, after painful scenes.<\/p>\n

With Rome\u2019s champion Alexander Zverev<\/strong> out in the first round, the only trouble for Murray before the semis seems to be Kei Nishikori<\/strong>, his potential quarterfinal opponent. I totally wouldn\u2019t be surprised if a dark horse will make it to quarterfinals in this section. Pablo Cuevas, Madrid semifinalist, is here, and has good potential indeed!<\/p>\n

The last favorite Stan Wawrinka<\/strong>. The Swiss has the toughest third round, compared to the other three\u2019s opponents. He is going to face Fabio Fognini<\/strong>, who defeated Murray in two easy sets in Rome a couple of weeks ago, and who shows his best tennis on clay. Wawrinka doesn\u2019t seem unplayable, though he has appeared very focused since the very beginning of the tournament. Fognini needs more or less the match of his life, but he must be given some chances. As for the following rounds, Marin Cilic<\/strong>, the highest seed left, isn\u2019t really a danger on clay.<\/p>\n

To be honest, we will likely have the four favorites all reaching quarterfinals. If it isn\u2019t so, then it will be because of a massive upset. And, let\u2019s be fair\u2026 we all enjoy dark horses\u2019 upsets!<\/p>\n

Enjoy what you read? Make sure to take a look at our complete 2017 French Open coverage<\/a> for other great content similar to this.<\/em><\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n