Could this be the return of the King of Clay? Rafael Nadal did not win the French Open in 2015 after five straight titles from 2010 to 2014. His first step of reclaiming his crown goes through powerful Aussie Sam Groth.
Will there be another victory for the King of Clay? Or will Groth pull out a shocking upset? Read on as we take a look at everything you need to know heading into this match. Check out the players you’ll need to keep an eye on in this tournament with our complete French Open preview.
Rafael Nadal is looking like a monster heading into Roland Garros. He has won 15 of his last 17 matches. He has made three final appearances this season with two titles at the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open—two French Open prep tournaments. People questioning Nadal’s talent as an elite tennis player can keep silent for now. He’ll be back on the surface he loves when he steps on the clay of the French Open.
The Majorcan has been incredible at Roland Garros. He has won nine of the past 11 French Open titles. He has the most wins at the tournament (70) from 2005 to 2014 among all players. He has won 97.2 percent of his matches at Roland Garros. Nadal lost to Djokovic in the quarterfinals of last year’s French Open. Aside from his loss to the world No. 1, he only dropped one set all tournament long.
Nadal has never lost in the first round of the French Open in his career.
Betting on Sam Groth
Sam Groth has the toughest of assignments. He faces the best clay court player in the Open Era, Rafael Nadal, in the first round of the French Open. That’s not all. Groth is also facing an injury issue with a blocked nerve in his neck which has already caused him to retire from matches two times in the past month.
Groth still has his power to cause Nadal some problems. He has won 79 percent of his service games with 147 aces to date in 2016. Groth hasn’t played on clay this season, though, which could hurt his chances of an upset in this first round matchup. Nevertheless, Groth’s power has seemed to translate well enough on clay. He has won 71 percent of his first serve points in his career on clay.
Groth has lost five of his last seven matches this year.
