Rafael Nadal
Nick Kyrgios has backed Rafael Nadal to win the 2017 French Open Getty

KEY POINTS

  • Nadal is the favourite to win the ongoing French Open for the 10th time.
  • The Spaniard has won 3 clay court events leading up to the second Grand Slam of 2017.

Nick Kyrgios has backed Rafael Nadal to win the 2017 French Open and believes the Spaniard is also confident about lifting his 10<sup>th title at Roland Garros.

Kyrgios, who made it into the second round following a straight sets victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber, is of the opinion that Nadal is 'not worried' about anyone in the tournament as he is confident he can overcome any challenge owing to a Grand Slam men's singles match being played as a best five set contest.

Moreover, the Spaniard, who is a 14-time men's singles Grand Slam winner, is coming into the tournament in top form having won three of the four clay court events leading up to the French Open. Nadal won back-to-back tournaments in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, but lost in the quarter-finals to Dominic Thiem at the Rome Masters.

Thiem, however went on to lose to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, winning just one game in two sets. Kyrgios feels his convincing loss at the hands of the Serb, who lost the finals in Rome to Alexander Zverev, was the consequence of him putting in every ounce of his energy to beat the Spaniard.

"Nadal, I don't think he's worried at all about anyone in this tournament, to be fair. Best of five, it suits him. He knows he's not going to lose. Let's be realistic," Kyrgios said, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Rafa on clay, his dominance right now is as big as it's ever been. Thiem played an unbelievable match in Rome to just beat him. Then look what happened the next round, he's completely gone, physically and mentally," he explained.

"I thought he was going to beat Djokovic, to be honest (in the semi-finals). Then he won one game."