5th seed Rafael Nadal is set to face Dutchman van de Zandschulp in the third round of the 2022 French Open
Rafael Nadal stormed into the third round of the French Open after defeating France’s Corentin Moutet in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. He previously defeated Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the first round.
Rafael Nadal made a comeback on the ATP tour earlier this month at the Madrid Open after a two month lay off due to injury.
Rafael Nadal had earlier withdrawn from the Miami Open to manage his workload and keep himself fit for the clay-court season. The Spaniard’s plans of preparing for the clay-court season were definitely hampered due to the rib injury. He missed the Monte Carlo Masters, a tournament played on clay surfaces and is considered to be an ideal warm-up event leading to the Roland Garros in Paris. However, Nadal is back in time for the Grand Slam in Paris in pursuit of a record 22nd Grand Slam.
Botic van de Zandschulp’s form coming into the tournament
World No.29 Botic van de Zandschulp received a walkover in his previous match after Fabio Fognini retired mid-way when the Dutchman was leading 6-4, 7-6, 3-2. The 26-year-old earlier defeated Pavel Kotov 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round.
van de Zandschulp hasn’t been in the greatest of touches coming into the tournament. In his previous two tournaments – the Italian Open and the Madrid Open, he made early Round of 32 exits. The Dutchman’s best performance so far this season came at the Bavarian International – he made it to the finals of the event but eventually lost to Holger Rune in the final.
Details:
| Date | Friday, 27th May |
| Court type | Outdoor clay court |
| Watch | Sony Network and Sony LIV |
| Start time | To be announced |
| Venue | Stade Roland Garros |
| Match details | Third round match |
Head to head and Predictions
Nadal and van de Zandschulp haven’t met each other before on the ATP tour. On paper, the Spaniard is the outright favourite going into the match – both in terms of form and rankings. However, the Dutchman is very much capable of pulling off a surprise. We are predicting a comfortable straight sets victory for Rafael Nadal.
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