Rafaela Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal recently backed Novak Djokovic over his clash against Jannik Sinner at the French Open. Fans have shared shocking reactions online over Nadal’s pick.
Both Sinner and Djokovic are gearing up for their French Open opening round. The Italian is entering the tournament as a favourite after earning a historical win in Rome and will be facing Clement Tabur in the first round. On the other hand, the Serb is entering the major tournament after suffering an early exit at the Italian Open and is now scheduled to lock horns with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round.
While the world No. 1 is being picked as the winner for Roland Garros by almost everyone, Toni Nadal has revealed the 39-year-old as his clear choice. In a recent conversation with Spanish outlet Radioestadio Noche, Nadal said that Djokovic is a threat to Sinner, even though his form says otherwise.
“I think the one who played well against him was Djokovic last year, when he played a slightly slower game with slightly higher balls. You have to look at the calibre of the players you’re up against. And I remember that last year Djokovic clearly put Sinner under pressure. Anything can happen, and the players coming up behind must fight as if it were the match of their lives. And then we’ll see,” said Nadal, backing the Serb.
Fans were stunned with this choice and shared their opinions on the internet. One of the users on Reddit wrote:
“Is uncle toni okay omg what lead to this plot twist? Normally he hates on novak non stop lol didn’t he wish he got injured once 😭😭😭”
Expressing dismay over the choice, another follower wrote:
“Toni Nadal is like the reverse Mouratoglu. One is desperately trying to be contrarian by downplaying the 2010s. The other is permanently stuck there and still thinks he’s talking about the same Djokovic he had to deal with.”
Another user on Reddit, shocked with Nadal’s choice, wrote:
“Toni doesn’t want Rafa achievements being completed by other players.”
Along similar lines, another fan commented:
“The subgenre of tennis journalism that is “Uncle Toni says something” needs to go away now. Christ, Rafa is retired and he now says things. Make more articles about that. We don’t need Toni’s opinions anymore.”
Jannik Sinner made his feelings known about competing at the French Open
Before kickstarting his French Open campaign against Clement Tabur, Jannik Sinner sat for his pre-tournament press conference, where he weighed in on competing at the French Open. Stating that it is a ‘special’ tournament, he said that he is getting closer to winning the trophy every year and last year he was very close, as he advanced to the finals but lost to Carlos Alcaraz.
“It’s a very special tournament for me, and it has been increasingly better year after year, and last year we were very close. But the feelings and the connection with the crowd was very nice. A lot of kids, which I really like to see. Of course I still think back to what happened, but still I have very positive feelings,” said Jannik Sinner.
If Jannik Sinner lifts the French Open trophy this year, he will join Rafael Nadal as the only man to win all three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 titles and then win the French Open title in the same season.
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