TennisSection previews the 2021 French Open as Rafael Nadal (3) meets Jannik Sinner (18) in the Round of 16 on Monday, June 7th 2021.
Will Jannik Sinner finally get his maiden win over Rafael Nadal as he looks to show everyone that he is more than just a NextGen player? Will Rafael Nadal continue to cruise through his matches here at Roland Garros as he keeps his record 14th French Open and 21st Grand Slam title hopes alive? This is going to be a very tight match between two very solid opponents, but only one will make their way to the Quarter-finals of the 2021 French Open. Who will it be?
Jannik Sinner put on a superb performance in the Round of 32, beating another NextGen player, Mikael Ymer, in straight sets 6-1/7-5/6-3. Although they are similar age, Jannik Sinner is miles ahead of players in his age range, and he will be able to get far into many more tournaments in the coming years as he has done in 2021. Jannik Sinner’s game is very similar to Novak Djokovic’s game when he was 19-years-old, and it will only be a matter of time before Jannik is one of the main guys on the ATP Tour and one of the players challenging for titles week in and week out. However, he will have to raise his level a lot higher here at Roland Garros if he is to defeat the best player of all time here, Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal came through a routine win against the lefty, Cameron Norrie, in the Round of 32 in straight sets 6-3/6-3/6-3. Rafael Nadal was superb in the first set and in the third set. In the second set he went down a break twice, and was able to find his composure again to break back straight away both times. Rafael Nadal was not playing on court Philippe Chatriet, which is his favourite court, which may have been why he was not as dominant throughout the match, but saying Nadal is not dominant when he defeated an opponent in straight sets with all 3 sets ending 6-3 is really telling you how good he can be on this surface. Nadal will now know he will have a challenge from Jannik Sinner in this Round of 16 match and he will need to ensure he comes out ready to fight.
Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner have met 2 times before, with Rafael Nadal leading the head to head 2-0. They met 3 weeks ago in Rome where Nadal won 7-5/6-4. They also met here at Roland Garros last year, where Sinner served for the first set, but still lost it in 3 sets 7-6/6-4/6-1. Rafael Nadal will be very happy with those two wins, and he will look at why those matches were very tight in the first set. Once Nadal is able to get that first set under his belt, he will cruise with the remainder of the match, and book himself a spot in the Quarter-finals of the 2021 French Open as he aims to make even more history.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Rafael Nadal in 3 Sets.
Want more Free Tennis Picks from our Experts? Check out our latest Tennis Predictions now!
