Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic news: What to expect from the duo this week? | May 12-May 18

Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic bowed out of the Italian Open early in Rome last weekend. While Nadal lost 6-1, 6-3 to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the second round, Djokovic was defeated 6-2, 6-3 by Alejandro Tabilo of Chile in the third round.

Nadal, who will turn 38 next month, has unparalleled legacy on clay courts. However, he has had to endure a pretty ordinary clay season so far on his comeback from injury. The Spaniard was simply overpowered by Hurkacz in Rome. He struggled to match the Pole in terms of power shot by shot. At times, his drop shots and volleys went wrong.

It is quite evident that Nadal is going through a phase he is not particularly enjoying. However, his record at the French Open is so ridiculously good that he will be a perennial favorite there as long he decides to enter the tournament and is reasonably fit.

He should be spending the next two weeks to recuperate from his loss in Rome and get prepared for what might prove to be his last French Open campaign.

Djokovic's underwhelming year goes on

It does not often happen that Djokovic is still trophy-less even into the fifth month of a year. He has been eliminated from the Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo Masters and now, the Italian Open before the final. Tabilo, being a southpaw, posed a different challenge to the Serb.

His crosscourt forehand kept troubling Djokovic to an extent. However, much to the World No. 1's worry, he was not his usual clinical self in either of the two matches he played in Rome.

He often tried to finish points fast quite uncharacteristically. As a result, Djokovic often ended up hitting the ball out of the court.

What one can assume that the Serb, who will turn 37 in May itself, is no longer enjoying going through the grind to play long rallies on clay. If that is true, he will find the best-of-five format quite demanding on the red dirt of Paris. It remains to be seen whether Djokovic is able to utilize the current week to recover from the loss in Rome and also work on his fitness levels.

Moreover, Djokovic's accidental head-injury that occurred after his second-round win over Corentin Moutet in Rome might have had some effect as well. The Serb said in this regard in his post-match press conference:

"Today under high stress, it was quite bad. Not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago.

“I don't know. I have to do medical checkups and see what's going on."

It remains to be seen whether the injury is going to have any bearing on the Serb's performance in Paris. He will surely undergo different tests in this regard to find out the extent of the injury. Irrespective of whether it affects him or not, it was certainly something he could have done without.