Roland Garros is just around the corner and i thought i should make a quick little pre-run ahead of this tournament.
No surface tests the body of a tennis player like clay and there are those who love to slide and grind on it, and others who prefer to keep their socks white rather than orange.
Rafael Nadal has been ruling the surface since he won Roland-Garros on debut in 2005, and he has since amassed a record 11 titles in Paris, and has picked up a total of 58 trophies on the red dirt. His winning percentage on clay is a stunning 91.7 and he comes to the Parisian tournament fresh off of winning a ninth Rome crown.
But the King of Clay is not the only one to have experienced success on the surface this season.
Argentinian Guido Pella hit a career-high ranking of 21 earlier this month and it’s mostly due to his great form on clay this season.
The 29-year-old lefty tops the leaderboard for most matches won on clay in 2019, amassing 20 victories from 28 clashes.
He may not have played as many matches on clay as others on tour but Djokovic tops the charts in winning percentage on clay (for players who contested 10 or matches). He picked up 10 wins from 12 matches on the red dirt and will be looking to complete a non-calendar-year Grand Slam for a second time in his career at Roland-Garros this fortnight.
Four of the world’s top-15 have posted 10 or more wins on clay this season – Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic and Dominic Thiem. Roger Federer has played just five matches on clay since 2016 and makes his return to Roland-Garros for the first time in four years.
Fabio Fognini is enjoying a breakthrough season on clay, having lifted the trophy at the Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo last month.
Sixth-ranked Tsitsipas won Estoril, reached the Madrid final and the Rome semis in consecutive weeks and comes to Roland-Garros as a serious contender.
I will definitely be looking ahead of this year’s edition with so many top names currently being in the game and going head to head for the grand title.
Tennis Enthusiast 