Andrey Rublev predicts Rafael Nadal to win 15th French Open title in 2023

Andrey Rublev has confidently predicted that Rafael Nadal will once again win the French Open in 2023.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, has been away from the tour since his second-round loss at the Australian Open. The 36-year-old was expected to feature in the Monte-Carlo Masters which begins this week, but he has withdrawn from the event as he is still nursing a hip injury.

However, World No. 6 Rublev has no doubts that the Mallorca native will return and win the 2023 French Open. He recently spoke to the ATP in a candid interview and cheekily questioned the journalist when asked about his prediction.

"I mean I need to say why Nadal? After 18 years of winning everything on clay," Andrey Rublev said.

Nadal has won 92 ATP singles titles in his tennis career and 63 of those have been on clay. He still holds the record for the longest surface winning streak in the Open Era, chalking up 81 consecutive wins on red dirt back in 2006-07.

Nadal will also be the defending champion at the French Open this year, after becoming the oldest player in history to win the competition in 2022. The former World No. 1 will be an obvious favorite at the event, but Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who was also featured in the ATP interview, feels Novak Djokovic has a good chance of winning his third French Open crown too.

Rublev, on his part, has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open twice in his career (2020, 2022). The 25-year-old also has three titles to his name on clay, having captured the 2017 Umag Open, the 2020 Hamburg European Open and the 2022 Serbia Open.

Rublev has had a decent start to his 2023 season, garnering 13 wins from 21 matches including a runner-up finish at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The Russian will be aiming to get some success in the claycourt season and improve on his performances from last year.

"I'll go for Nadal there" - Dominic Thiem picks his 2023 French Open winner

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Dominic Thiem has also predicted that Rafael Nadal will defend his title at the 2023 French Open. Thiem believes the Spaniard can turn around his poor start to the season and add to his tally of 22 Major titles.

"I'll go for Nadal there," Dominic Thiem said.

The Austrian, who is currently competing at the Estoril Open, is off to a solid start at the claycourt event. He kicked off his campaign with a hard fought win over Sebastian Ofner and then outclassed Ben Shelton in straight sets en route to the quarterfinals.

The is the first time in 2023 that Thiem has collected back-to-back wins.