While Rafael Nadal inherited Alexander Zverev in the first round of Roland-Garros, Amélie Mauresmo accepts the fact of not having granted the Majorcan a seeded status.
“Looking at the draw, I imagine Rafa is not going to be happy. » Tournament director, Amélie Mauresmo was a little embarrassed after the Roland-Garros draw, carried out on Thursday. Big attraction at the start of the fortnight, Rafael Nadal inherited a tough opponent to say the least in the first round, since he will face the German Alexander Zverev.
A world No. 4, who has just won the Masters 1000 in Rome, this is the kind of client that Nadal would undoubtedly have preferred to avoid for what should be his final Roland-Garros. But that was the risk. Having fallen back to 276th in the world after his long absence, the Mallorcan used his protected ranking to enter the table. But this did not allow him to obtain seeded status, which would have avoided such a shock for his entry into the running.
“Rafa is a warrior”
Roland-Garros kept its usual operation, sticking to the ATP rankings to designate the 32 seeds. Too bad if some would have liked Nadal, with his 14 victories in Paris, to benefit from a little more leniency. Amélie Mauresmo assumes: “ If we could, we would have done it. But protecting him would have solved some problems, but would have brought many more. Even Wimbledon stopped working like that several years ago. the former world number 1 told the media on Thursday, relays Le Figaro.
The positive is that the feat would be even more beautiful. Mauresmo wants to believe it for Nadal, even if Zverev will start favorite. “ Sacha is in great shape. I just want to be a spectator of this match, admits the tournament boss. Rafa an extraordinary warrior and competitor. And in the best of five rounds, he knows music like no other. We’ll see. » We’ll see Monday, late afternoon, or in the evening session.