5 reasons why Rafael Nadal is the hot favourite to win the French Open 2017

Consistency

Chomp! Nadal is back to his winning – and trophy-biting ways!

Nadal is perhaps the greatest clay court player tennis has seen so far, or will see for a long time coming. That said, this year, following his return from an extended break, Nadal has been brilliant on every surface going. He opened his hard-court season with strong wins before his now-iconic Australian Open final against Roger Federer, and then followed it up with a semi-final against the Swiss in Indian Wells and yet another final in Miami – against Federer each time.

To say that he has only dominated clay so far would be misleading – Nadal has had a singularly high level of gameplay whether it has been on hard courts or clay, so his prowess is not to do entirely with his mastery of the clay court.

That regular play and consistency were a mark of Nadal’s earliest days, and the player has sustained that gameplay deep into tournaments each time.