French Open: Nadal ‘doesn’t care’ about being favourite, Osaka eyes ‘cool’ Grand Slam sweep

Rafael Nadal said on Friday that he “doesn’t care” if he is the red-hot favourite to lift a record-extending 12th French Open title at Roland Garros, insisting that there are a host of players in contention for the trophy.

The world number two holds an incredible French Open win-loss record of 86-2, and hit top form by winning his ninth Italian Open last week with a final victory over old rival Novak Djokovic.

Nadal could move to within two titles of Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record of 20 Grand Slam trophies if he lifts the Coupe des Mousquetaires on June 9.

“I don’t care if I’m the favourite,” he said. “I care about feeling well and playing well. I appreciate that you (the media) see me like that, but (Dominic) Thiem, Novak (Djokovic), Federer, Tsitsipas who has been playing well, (Juan Martin) del Potro, (Kei) Nishikori – all those that are the best in the world will be favourites.

“The only thing that worries me is being well and being competitive. The only favourite that matters is the one who has the cup at home in two weeks’ time.”

Before his triumph in Rome, it had been far from a trademark clay-court season for Nadal. The Spaniard failed in his bids for 12th titles in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, where he lost in the semi-finals to Fabio Fognini and Thiem respectively.

Another last-four exit followed on home soil in Madrid against Greek rising star Tsitsipas. Nadal admits it took him time to rediscover his top form after a one-month absence with the right knee injury which forced him to withdraw from Indian Wells before a scheduled semi-final against Federer.

“When you’re recovering from an injury it’s also difficult to recover mentally,” he said. “I had not had that for a long time. Losing in the semi-finals is considered bad... Without playing especially well at the start of the clay season.

“You have to have the humility to value small improvements. For me, one very positive thing was that before I started Rome, it was not a disaster – I’d made three semi-finals. It’s not incredible, but it’s not a total disaster either.”

Warm-up on the fairways

Nadal, who faces a qualifier in the first round but could meet Federer or Tsitsipas in a potential semi-final clash, was pleased to get away from the court after his Rome success.

“I have been at home, one day of golf, one day of family, and came back here. (I’ve) already had two practices here. Good practices. (I’m) just trying to continue the preparation and just hold the level.”

But Nadal will not be over-confident in the first week, pointing to his famous shock early Wimbledon defeats by Steve Darcis and Dustin Brown.

“The problem with Dustin Brown is that if I play badly, I lose to anyone,” he said. “In 2015, I was playing badly, it was normal to lose to a dangerous player on grass. I also lost to Darcis in 2013. It’s part of the sport. When one plays badly he usually loses.”

But Nadal has only lost to two men at Roland Garros since his triumphant debut in 2005 – against the now-retired Robin Soderling and this year’s top seed Djokovic, who he could face in the final as the Serbian chases a fourth consecutive Grand Slam crown.

Osaka ‘dreaming of Roland Garros’

Naomi Osaka said Friday it would be “cool” to complete a Grand Slam sweep in 2019 even if her meteoric rise to fame has left her feeling as if she’s 35 rather than 21.

The world number one won her first major at the US Open last year and then backed it up with the Australian Open in January.

Now she is top seed at a major for the first time at Roland Garros and sees no reason why she cannot take Paris, Wimbledon and finish the year with a successful defence of her title in New York.

“Roland Garros, that’s what I’m dreaming about right now,” said Osaka, the top seed when the French Open starts on Sunday. “If you’re talking about longer goals, of course I haven’t won Wimbledon yet and it would be really cool to win everything in one year.”

Germany’s Steffi Graf was the last woman to win a calendar Grand Slam in 1988. Before her, it is a feat only achieved by Margaret Court in 1970 and Maureen Connolly in 1953.

Despite Osaka having yet to get past the third round in Paris, she insists she increasingly feels that winning Slams is part of her destiny.

“I feel really old, but actually, I’m 21. I feel like when I talk to you guys, it’s like I’m talking like I’m a 35-year-old person that’s been through a lot. I always had really big goals and dreams. I always thought I would be No. 1 and win a Grand Slam when I was 18. I know that sounds kind of crazy.

“When that didn’t happen, I was a little bit depressed. I was thinking, like, I’m late, like, I’m kind of late to the party. Yeah, then I kind of realise that everyone has their own path. I’m not really supposed to compare myself to anyone else and I should just keep working as hard as I can, and eventually I’ll get to where I want to be.”

Supremely confident

Despite her off-court coyness, Osaka’s on-court confidence is growing even if it’s not particularly shared by her family.

“This year (in Melbourne) I called my mom in, like, the second round. I was, like, ‘Do you want to come to Australia because I’m going to win this tournament?’ She was, like, ‘No’,” said Osaka on Friday.

“She’s like, ‘No, I’m with your sister. No thank you’. I was, like, ‘Okay’. In Australia, the goal was to win. That was what I was waking up every day thinking. You know, like the walk through the tunnel, like, you see the two trophies. I would kind of tap that, the women’s trophy side.”

Osaka arrives in Paris having not reached a final since her Australian Open triumph while her clay season has been mixed. She made the quarter-finals in Madrid while an abdominal strain forced an early withdrawal from Stuttgart before a hand injury led to retirement in Rome last week.

“It gets better every day, so hopefully by the time that I play my match, it’s 100 per cent. I practised for the past two days, so it’s going well. Yeah, I’m currently very cold because I just took an ice bath, but other than that, I feel good.”