Iga Swiatek has confirmed her place as the clear World Number 1 on the WTA Tour by winning a second Grand Slam and her second French Open title.
She has long looked capable of winning that title, but Swiatek proved herself by matching expectations and I do think the World Number 1 will be a clear favourite to win at Wimbledon and at the US Open.
There are still a wide range of players that will feel they can get hot enough to win a Grand Slam considering the lack of real depth at the top of the WTA Tour, but avoiding Iga Swiatek for as long as possible does offer the best opportunity.
On Sunday we have the Men's Final as the second Grand Slam of the season comes to a close.
Rafael Nadal has made his way into a fourteenth Final in Paris and will be facing a first time Grand Slam Finalist, which is the main reason the former is a big favourite to win a twenty-second Slam.
Rafael Nadal-Casper Ruud over 33.5 games: It was a truly sickening ending to the first of the Men's Semi Final matches on Friday when Alexander Zverev looked to have done himself a serious injury just before the second set tie-breaker was to begin. He had been hugely competitive against Rafael Nadal to that point and should have been a set ahead, but the match was still firmly in the balance when injury struck.
There is no doubt that Rafael Nadal did not look to be at his best on the day with the indoor clay court conditions not ideal to the game he wants to play. The Final looks like it will at least begin outdoors with poor weather expected in the late afternoon in Paris, but playing in the outdoor heat will be beneficial to the thirteen time French Open Champion.
He did look good against Novak Djokovic, but Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Zverev have really pushed Rafael Nadal who was on court for over three hours despite the second set not being completed in the Semi Final. The foot injury is being managed, but Nadal's movement does not look to be at perfect step and I do think his serve has been a touch vulnerable, more than usual on the clay courts.
The big question for his opponent is how he can handle the occasion of a first Grand Slam Final and facing his idol on his best court- Casper Ruud trained with Rafael Nadal's Academy in Mallorca and so there is going to be some nerves in facing his hero for the first time.
Being a hero means Casper Ruud will know all about Rafael Nadal's history on this court and in this tournament and that alone makes the challenge look very daunting. I have been impressed with Casper Ruud and the development of the last couple of years that have taken him into the top ten of the World Rankings and the Norwegian really handled himself very well after dropping the first set of his Semi Final against the veteran Marin Cilic before rolling through the next three sets.
The Casper Ruud serve has been a major weapon for him throughout the French Open, while it has freed him up to get on top of the return of serve. All credit has to be given to Ruud for taking advantage of his half of the draw, but this is going to be the toughest player he has played in the tournament as he looks to win a first Grand Slam title.
I think that may be too much, even if Rafael Nadal is not at his best.
Casper Ruud has never beaten a top ten Ranked opponent in a Grand Slam (0-4) and he is just 3-7 against those Ranked opponents in clay court matches overall. This year Novak Djokovic beat him pretty comfortably on the surface and I do think Casper Ruud has struggled to be competitive on the return of serve when he has faced the better players on the Tour.
Of course you cannot ignore the fact that Rafael Nadal does look worn down and it may just give Casper Ruud a big opportunity to win the biggest title of his career. He will have to serve very well though and find a way to get into the Rafael Nadal service games to try and build pressure, but it will be hard to sustain over three, four or five hours.
He may have enough to take a set, but Rafael Nadal's experience can take him through to another title at Roland Garros.
It may be best to back this Final going over the total games and seven of the thirteen Grand Slam titles won by Rafael Nadal at the French Open have gone at least four sets. The doubt about the Rafael Nadal foot is perhaps putting me off in backing him to win in four sets, but this is a total number of games that may even be covered in a straight sets win for either player with the expectation we could have at least three competitive sets.
MY PICKS: Rafael Nadal-Casper Ruud Over 33.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
French Open Update: 54-54, - 9.57 Units (214 Units Staked, - 4.47% Yield)
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