Nadal: Every tournament is different

 

Originally published on: 28/05/12 00:00

The three players who currently top the men’s world rankings have won 27 of the last 28 Grand Slam singles titles, but as the French Open gets under way Rafa Nadal says there are plenty more contenders to win the game’s biggest prizes.

Since Marat Safin won the 2005 Australian Open title, the only player to deny Nadal, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic the ultimate prize at a Grand Slam event has been Juan Martin del Potro, who won the 2009 US Open.

However, when asked about the top players’ domination, Nadal insisted: “That’s what has happened in the last couple of years, but it doesn't mean that's going to happen in the future. Every tournament is different. When you start a tournament like here or like Wimbledon in a couple of weeks, you look out, you see the draw, and you see that you have a group of players who can win.

“If we talk about Rome, for example, Novak and me played the final in the end, but Novak had a very tough match against Monaco in the second round. He was losing by a set and a break, so he could have lost the match.

“I had very tough matches against Berdych and against David Ferrer. I could have lost those matches, so another two players could have been in the final. So finally that's what happened. That doesn't mean that's going to happen here in Roland Garros.  That doesn't mean that's going to happen in Wimbledon.”

He added: “We'll see what's going to happen in the future. I don't see only three players on the tour. I look around and I see fantastic players and every tournament is open to almost everybody.”

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