India’s ex-Davis Cupper Devvarman reckons Nadal will dominate Casper Ruud through his all-surface winning experience
Picture Courtesy: Spain’s Rafael Nadal during his French Open quarter-final against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in Paris recently. Pic/Getty Images, and AFP
Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal is a clear favourite to win his 14th French Open title on Sunday, according to former India Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman.
A young Casper Ruud had a dominant four-set win over the more experienced Marin Cilic in the second semi-final on Friday, but according to Devvarman, that result won’t have any bearing on the summit clash. “Rafa is left-handed, his return position is different, his serve is different, so this match will be totally different for Ruud when compared to the one against Cilic. Of course, he will have the confidence that he can take down a big-hitter like Cilic, but against Rafa it’s a totally different ball game,” Devvarman said in response to a question by mid-day.com during a virtual media interaction organised by Sony Sports.
The Indian tennis ace further explained why he thinks Rafa is such an overwhelming favourite.
“Rafa is the favourite for the final because he has won the Slams on each and every surface and has won the French 13 times. On the other hand, this is the first Slam final for Rudd, so he will be under pressure and the emotions will be different. When there is a high pressure situation, Ruud will have to see how to deal with it while Rafa knows exactly how to deal with such things because he has done it many times in the past. Ruud will have to play a perfect match if he needs to have any chance of beating Rafa, who is clearly the King of Clay” added Devvarman. Ends
