"Nadal loses in the first week of Roland Garros"; "Djokovic wins his 23rd Slam" - Tennis fans give their boldest predictions for 2023 clay season

With the tennis tours moving to clay, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic featured prominently in tennis fans' boldest predictions for the upcoming tournaments.

On April 3, the US Open social media handle asked tennis fans for their most audacious predictions regarding the clay season, which will culminate with the French Open in May-June.

"Drop your boldest prediction for clay season," the US Open Twitter account posted.

Tennis fans jumped on the chance to make their opinions known. One fan floated the possibility of Nadal, the defending French Open champion, facing an early exit at the claycourt Major.

"Nadal loses in the first week of Roland Garros," the fan predicted.

Another fan had more faith in the Spaniard continuing his dominance on clay. They predicted that Nadal would sweep every warmup tournament he competed in before nabbing a record 15th title at Roland Garros.

"Rafa will win Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros," the user posted.

Two-time Roland Garros champion Novak Djokovic was a popular pick among tennis fans for the 2023 French Open title as well.

"Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Slam at Roland Garros," one fan tweeted.

"Djokovic to win Roland Garros," another fan commented.

Daniil Medvedev's name was also in the mix as fans pegged him to gain newfound success on clay, despite his famous aversion to the surface. One user picked the Russian to claim one of the three claycourt ATP Masters 1000 titles.

"Clayvedev win a Master on clay," the fan wrote.

Another fan chimed in with their prediction of Medvedev defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas for his maiden claycourt title.

"Medvedev defeats Tsitsipas for one of the titles," they wrote.

Another player predicted to have success on clay was Carlos Alcaraz.

"Nadal doesn't take a single clay courts title this year. Djokovic dominates Paris, Alcaraz wins two Master's - Madrid and Monte Carlo," a fan predicted.

Here are some more predictions from tennis fans:

Novak Djokovic confirmed to compete at Monte-Carlo Masters, Rafael Nadal pulls out

Nadal defeated Djokovic at the 2022 French Open

Following his inability to compete at the Sunshine Double events in Indian Wells and Miami, Novak Djokovic will make his return at the Monte-Carlos Masters, scheduled to begin on April 9. On April 1, the Serb shared an update which showed him gearing up for the Masters event.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal has announced his decision to skip the tournament. The Spaniard stated that his physical condition isn't at 100% yet and that he will continue his recovery journey and try to return to competition soon.

Nadal, an 11-time title winner in Monte-Carlo, has now missed the last two editions of the Masters 1000 event. He skipped the 2022 edition due to a rib injury.

"I am still not prepared to compete at the highest level so I will not be able to play in one of the most important tournaments of my career, Monte Carlo. Unfortunately I am not yet able to play with maximum guarantees,” Nadal said. "I continue my process of recovery and preparation, hoping to return to competition soon."