As we are less than a week away from the first ball of the main draw being struck at the 2013 French Open, the world finds that the men’s side of the draw is going to be missing a few players.
Top ranked players are out of the 2013 French Open
World #2 Andy Murray announced that he will be withdrawing from Roland Garros citing a back injury. It’s not very surprising that he’s pulling out of the second major, clay is not his best surface so why push his body to do something that could potentially be worse for him. I imagine he is going to use this opportunity to rest and get ready for what I figure to be his reason for playing, grass court season! He’s probably hanging out at home now, having his back looked at, and getting all preparations in line for Wimbledon this year. Judging by his performance in 2012, he has the best chance to reach the finals again and perhaps actually take the title home with him.
Another top ranked player to pull out is world #7 Juan Martin Del Potro. This one comes as a bit more of a shocker since he’s been relatively healthy all year. He’s also made quite a remarkable run to regain his place in the top 10 after a long layoff from a wrist injury. Reports say that Del Potro is suffering from a virus and has flown back to Argentina to see his doctors. I was hoping he would do well on the red clay of the 2013 French Open, but it won’t be this year.
There were reports of current world #11 Stanislas Wawrinka possibly pulling out of the French with a leg injury; however, he recently posted on his Twitter that he had landed safely in Paris and was ready. Stan has been having a pretty solid clay court swing this year, winning Portugal a few weeks ago and having a run to the Madrid final this year (loss to Nadal). If he’s healthy, I say he’s going to be a solid contender. In any event, it’s time for you to get some live event tickets quickly, or you’ll miss out on some heavy hitting on one of the most famous tennis stadiums in the world.
Don’t worry, Rafael Nadal has not withdrawn from the French Open
As far as I can tell Rafa Nadal is still planning on defending his 2012 French Open title. He will likely reach the finals and capture his 8 French Open title, there are still French Open Men’s final tickets available in case you were looking for some. Surely he will face either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic in the finals.
I haven’t heard of any high ranked players on the WTA that have withdrawn from the French Open, so that draw will round out to be pretty solid all the way through the end. Should Serena Williams perform above 45% of where she has been playing the last several weeks, this should be cake for her.
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