Rafael Nadal must improve his mobility & serve ahead of RG, Djokovic & Thiem will be his biggest rivals in Paris: Francisco Roig

Rafael Nadal's alternate coach Francisco Roig believes that the Spaniard needs to iron out a few flaws in his game before the French Open. Roig also showered rich praise on Dominic Thiem, and claimed that the Austrian would be as big a threat in Paris as Novak Djokovic if he manages to regain his form.

While Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic seem to be in great form and shape ahead of the French Open, the same cannot be said of Dominic Thiem. Although Thiem did make the semifinals of the Madrid Open, he failed to impress in Rome, leaving many wondering about his chances in Paris.

Rafael Nadal's game might seem flawless in comparison to Dominic Thiem's current level, but Francisco Roig recently claimed that the 13-time Roland Garros champion still has room for improvement. Speaking to ATP, the 53-year-old stressed that Nadal must work on his footwork and try to move better up-and-down as well as laterally.

Roig also believes that Nadal's serve must improve further, even though he acknowledged that it has consistently got better in recent matches.

"Looking ahead to Roland Garros, I think a little more mobility is important," Roig said. "At the level of aerobic capacity, he has been very good, holding out in games, but I think we have room for improvement when moving. It can still be a more dynamic point, both forward and in lateral mobility."

"And the serve must also be worked on, although it has gotten better and better," he added. "In fact, against Djokovic he was already pretty good."

When asked to name Rafael Nadal's biggest competitors at Roland Garros, Francisco Roig went with Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.

"Novak Djokovic is still the rival, perhaps, who can cause more problems, along with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem," Roig said.

Francisco Roig showered rich praise on Dominic Thiem.

Francisco Roig went on to assert that Dominic Thiem would be as dangerous an opponent as Novak Djokovic, given his affinity towards clay. Rafael Nadal's coach admitted that while Thiem's level may have dipped, he is still a "complete player" who makes it very physically demanding to face him.

"Of course, if Dominic Thiem regains the rhythm and confidence that he usually shows on clay, I would say that I do not see differences between him and Djokovic," Roig said. "Since he won the US Open he has dropped a bit, but I'm sure that for Roland Garros he will be at the necessary level and will be a very tough opponent. He is a very complete player, who demands a lot in each hit, if you leave the ball a little short, the point is over. On a physical level he is very demanding."

I continue to see Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the favorites at Slams: Francisco Roig

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after the Italian Open final.

Turning his attention to the recent rapid growth of the Next Gen players, Francisco Roig admitted that the younger players have closed the gap from Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in best-of-three events. However, Roig added that Nadal and Djokovic are still the favorites at the Slams.

"In the [ATP] Masters 1000 it has been distributed more, it is obvious that they are getting closer and closer, but in the Grand Slam, in five-set matches, I continue to see them as favorites," Roig said.