From Nadal and Swiatek to Tsitsipas and Sabalenka: Here’s who shone on clay ahead of French Open

The second Grand Slam of the year is here and in 2021, French Open is back to its usual time slot in the summer. Unlike the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season, there was a full-fledged clay court season through April and May this year and it was packed with action and set up some intriguing storylines for the upcoming Major.

The 1000 series results across both the ATP and WTA Tours perhaps give the best summary of the contenders at the upcoming French Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas won his first-ever Masters title at Monte Carlo, Aryna Sabalenka won her biggest career trophy at the Madrid Open while Alexander Zverev won his third clay-court Masters. At the Italian Open, defending Roland Garros champions Nadal and Iga Swiatek took home the biggest trophies ahead of the Major with contrasting victories.

While the performance in the clay swing may not always be accurately indicative of the player’s chances at French Open, more often than not the ones who do well in the preceding season. Clay is not a surface one can always attune their game to, ask Daniil Medvedev or Naomi Osaka!

Here’s a look at the winners and runners up on clay in 2021

Rafael Nadal

Clay win-loss record in 2021 (before French Open): 12-2

The world No 3 won two titles from four tournaments on clay and yet by his high standards it didn’t feel enough. In the two matches he didn’t win this season, both quarter-finals, he went down to the much younger Rublev at Monte Carlo and Zverev at Madrid, looking slightly listless in the latter.

Yet, Nadal, who turns 35 on June 3, was one of two standout performers on clay, the second being Stefanos Tsisipas who the Spaniard beat in a terrific Barcelona Open final to win his first title of the season

But the best of the lot was his performance in Rome, where he saved match points against Denis Shapovalov, avenged his loss to Zverev and then beat defending champion Novak Djokovic in a gritty, three-set final to equal the Serb’s record of Masters 1000 titles and reiterate his dominance on the surface.

With it, he completed an incredible fourth different ‘Decima’ – winning 10 titles – at a clay court tournament.

Data check: Rafael Nadal completes fourth different ‘La Decima’ with Italian Open win

As things stand, the King of Clay looks set for another big defense as he targets a 14th French Open title and record-setting 21st Grand Slam crown.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Clay win-loss record in 2021 (before French Open): 16-3

The 22-year-old has constructed an impressive resume on clay in the last few years and it’s come together with his first Masters title this season.

Last year he had reached the semi-final of the French Open in October, pushing Djokovic to five sets. This year, he began by winning the first clay-court Masters of the season at Monte Carlo, finally breaking his duck at the level. He beat Andrey Rublev – who had knocked out 11-time champion Nadal – in straight sets in the final and then reached the final of the Barcelona Open next week beating the likes of Jannik Sinner and Toni Nadal-coached Felix Auger-Aliassimme.

He lost to Nadal 7-5 in the final set but the two weeks seemed indicative of his growing confidence on the surface. He then lost to Ruud in the second round at Madrid and in Rome he played another superb match in a losing cause, going down to Djokovic in the quarters. The world No 5 picked a second trophy at Lyon, with more morale-boosting wins and will take that momentum to Paris. He is set to be the fifth seed in Paris and is likely set for a second straight deep run.

Alexander Zverev

Clay win-loss record in 2021 (before French Open): 9-3

The German started his clay season with a couple of second-round losses but bounced back solidly to serve a reminder of his performance in 2017 and 2018 when he won two Masters on clay.

He won his third when he lifted the Madrid trophy beating Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem en route. In the final, he recovered from a set down to defeat Matteo Berrettini for his third consecutive top-10 victory in the week. He was downed by Nadal at Rome but will go confident into the Grand Slam he first broke his quarter-final duck in.

The sixth seed, now a Grand Slam finalist after his run at the 2020 US Open, has gained much experience in the five-set format and will look to make the most of being on the smoother side of the men’s draw.

Iga Swiatek

Clay win-loss record in 2021 (before French Open): 8-1

The defending champion enters into the Major with a fairly good chance despite playing just two tournaments in the run up.

Swiatek, who turns 20 next week and broke into the Top 10 just this week, was the lowest-ranked woman, then 54th in the world, to win the French Open: her first-ever title. But she has built on that admirably and made her name on the surface in a short time and could well just do what so few others have been able to – defend a Major.

At Madrid, she went down to her predecessor Barty in the round of 16 but the way she pushed through the field in Rome, was enough to make her a favourite despite the uncertainty of WTA. First, she saved match points against Barbora Krejcikova and then then beat Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff, both solid players on clay, in one day to reach the final. She capped it by blanking Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 to win her first 1000-level trophy. Talk about dominance.

Ashleigh Barty

Clay win-loss record in 2021 (before French Open): 13-3

Also entering Roland Garros as a champion who won her last seven matches there is world No 1 Barty. The 2019 winner didn’t return to defend her title last year due to the pandemic but has shown the same-old prowess on clay with a consistent run in the buildup.

Before an arm injury forced her to withdraw in her Rome quarter-final against Gauff, she reached the finals at Stuttgart and Madrid – both three sets against Sabalenka – winning the WTA 500 and losing the WTA 1000. She is the only player to beat Swiatek on clay this year, a straight-sets win in Madrid. She also reached the quarter-final in Charleston, and has won a total of three titles across surfaces this year.

Aryna Sabalenka

Clay win-loss record in 2021 (before French Open): 11-2

Sabalenka claimed her biggest title to date at the Madrid Open and has become the most prominent dark horse for Roland Garros.

The 23-year-old Belarusian was largely seen as a hard-court player but has changed that perception this season, winning her first clay and WTA 1000 title with a three-set win over Barty two weeks after losing a three-set final to the Australian at Stuttgart. She has wins over Simona Halep and Elise Mertens on clay. As the WTA can be an unpredictable place, world No 4 Sabalenka is a serious contender for the newest first-time Grand Slam champion going by form and confidence.

Honourable mentions

Injuries and poor clay form cloud the chances of several top players ahead of Paris and another upset run by a lower-seeded player cannot be ruled out. An obvious name for this will be the youngest player in the WTA top 25 – Coco Gauff. She won her second career and first clay title at Parma, where she swept the doubles crown as well. The 17-year-old beat Sabalenka at Rome, showing she has the big game when needed. A teen Grand Slam champion again would be quite the story.

World No 1 and last year’s finalist Novak Djokovic reached just the one final in Rome and suffered more shock losses to players such as Dan Evans (second round at Monte Carlo) and Aslan Karatsev (a stunner of a match at home in Belgrade) but there’s still a chance that he will lift a title at the ongoing second Serbia Open. Even if he doesn’t, it will be foolish to not expect a deep run and a genuine title challenge from the top seed.

The French Open broadcast on Star Sports Select and Disney+ Hotstar VIP from May 30