French Open diary: Rafa and Novak set to make it intriguing again

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  • Grand slam chance: Novak Djokovic.

    When Novak Djokovic replaced Rafael Nadal as world No1 for the first time after Wimbledon in 2011, his ascension was not determined by the result of the final match.

    Even if the Serb had lost to Nadal in that Wimbledon final, Djokovic would have still walked away with the No1 ranking.

    Tennis has been more of a tug of war between those two since then. They’ve faced off more times than any other two players in the history of the sport and should they meet in the final in Paris in two weeks’ time, the winner of that bout will walk away with the No1 ranking – I say bout because those two don’t trade forehands and backhands, they trade punches and blows.

    It’s almost like La Liga this season, with the title getting decided by one match on the final day between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. That’s what we can look forward to in Paris this fortnight – a mouthwatering potential showdown between the world’s top-two in a final that could see Djokovic complete a career Grand Slam and snatch the top spot from Nadal once again.

    Compared to Nadal gunning for a record-extending ninth Roland Garros title, Djokovic certainly has much more incentive than his rival. I’m not belittling Nadal’s unquenchable thirst for victory, but Djokovic definitely has much more to gain this time.

    But before we reach the climax of the tournament, here are some questions we can look forward to seeing answered in Paris:

    Will we witness another Stan?

    Since Stan Wawrinka won the Australian Open last January, the ATP’s chasing pack – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and co – have been given a new reason to believe they themselves can capture their maiden Grand Slam.

    Will one of them rise to the occasion?

    Will the ATP up-and-comers finally arrive?

    They’ve been inching ahead in whatseems like excruciatingly slow pace – taking surprise U-turns in between – but will the likes of Grigor Dimitrov and Ernests Gulbis finally make a Grand Slam semi-final?

    Dimitrov was quite easily blown away by David Ferrer and Nadal on clay recently, while Gulbis is playing in the week before a major.

    Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori also belong to that group and have had strong build-up campaigns.

    How will the WTA teens fare?

    Three names deserve our attention: Elina Svitolina, Donna Vekic and Belinda Bencic. Svitolina, 19, is a former Roland Garros junior champion and has made the third round in Australia this year and the fourth round in Miami.

    But she’s lost her last three matches on clay. Vekic won her first WTA title in Malaysia recently but is yet to win a main draw match in a major.

    Bencic, who won Roland Garros and Wimbledon juniors last year, made semis in Charleston as a qualifier and stretched Flavia Pennetta to three in Rome.

    Will anyone beat Serena?

    In my opinion, only two players can – the 2011 champion Li Na and 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

    Li Na hasn’t beaten a top-10 player this year but the Australian Open champion has a game that can counter Williams’ on clay and incredible backhand. Kuznetsova’s top spin on clay is something to behold and she was very close to beating Williams in Paris last year.

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