Lucas Pouille believes Rafael Nadal will once again be the man to beat at the French Open despite the current form of Novak Djokovic.
The second Grand Slam of the year is due to get underway in May and the statistics certainly suggest that world number two Nadal should be regarded as the favourite, having emerged victorious at Roland Garros a staggering 11 times.
However, Serbian ace Djokovic has won each of the last three Grand Slams, including last month’s Australian Open, where he eased past Nadal in the final without dropping a set.
French star Pouille was beaten by Djokovic at the semi-final stage of that tournament and concedes the world number one was in unstoppable form in Melbourne.
“Just after the match, there was a disappointment,” Pouille said when reflecting on his defeat to Djokovic. “But there was nothing to do.
Djokovic was above all the others. “He just hit 14 unforced errors between the semi-final and final, it’s just unbelievable. I had never seen him performing at that level.
If Djokovic can reproduce that kind of form in Paris then he may well be able to claim a second French Open title, although Pouille still believes Nadal has to be regarded as the favourite heading into the tournament.
“Nadal stays Nadal at the French Open,” Pouille added. “He is at home. On clay, he (Djokovic) is just behind Nadal to me.”
