"I don't think at this stage of his career he has to win 7 of them before he goes to Roland Garros" - Peter Bodo on Rafael Nadal's preparation ahead of French Open
Speaking on Tennis Channel's Inside In podcast, tennis journalist Peter Bodo reckoned that at this stage in Rafael Nadal's career, the lack of match practice ahead of his most successful Slam wouldn't hinder the Spaniard too much.
Rafael Nadal lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open on Friday in three sets. The Spaniard returned to action in Madrid after an injury caused him to miss the Monte-Carlo Masters and his home tournament in Barcelona.
The King of Clay, who has won a record 13 titles at Roland Garros, will be going into this year's tournament without much match play or adequate preparation due to his injury layoff. Bodo suggested that any problems the Spaniard faces would not be due to lack of match practice and that he doesn't need to win multiple tournaments before the French Open.
"Oddly enough, if he does have a problem, it's not going to have to do with lack of clay court experience. He has played quite a few clay-court tournaments," Bodo said. "I don’t think at this stage in his career, he needs to win 7 of them before he goes to Roland-Garros."
"Champions fatigue" the only factor that can affect Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, according to Peter Bodo
Peter Bodo opined that what may hamper Rafael Nadal is a phenomenon he calls champion's fatigue.
"On the other hand, one thing that does kick in is something I have always called champions fatigue. It's kind of like medal fatigue. If you bend a medal long enough, eventually it breaks. It's a matter of usage."
According to Bodo, champion's fatigue is particularly evident in players who have won a lot of tournaments as compared to those who are still seeking title wins.
"Champions fatigue kind of sets in for everyone as you get older after they have won a lot of tournaments, after they have won big time. Guys who aren't champions dont get it to the same degree because you're still trying to make it though that one breakthrough tournament, looking to win a major or something," the American added.
The propensity to cave in when facing big-serving youngsters at their best is one example of championship fatigue, as explained by Bodo.
"They get that bad dip on the day when someone else - one of the younger guys serving like a monster, there you can potentially have a problem. Not to mention guys who legitamately can beat him on clay like Djokovic," he said.
"At this stage of their career, I wouldnt take anything for granted for any of these guys," Bodo said.