With Federer out of the mix, who will challenge Nadal at the French Open?

In a paradox of sorts, none of the favourites, barring Nadal, has exhibited any kind of prolonged Grand Slam solidity in the past

Dhruv Munjal | New Delhi Last Updated at May 25, 2018 21:48 IST

Eleven. That is what Rafael Nadal wants: 11 French Open titles. To put the preposterous nature of this chase into context, Rod Laver — often hailed as the greatest player ever before Roger Federer made us suspect otherwise — won a total of 11 Grand Slams.

Ditto for Björn Borg. Other “truly great” players, such as Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi, only managed a haul of eight each. John McEnroe, another special talent, has seven. Till about a month ago, the question on everyone’s minds wasn’t so much who would be able to beat him ...

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First Published: Fri, May 25 2018. 21:48 IST

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With Federer out of the mix, who will challenge Nadal at the French Open?

In a paradox of sorts, none of the favourites, barring Nadal, has exhibited any kind of prolonged Grand Slam solidity in the past

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