Ten-time champion Rafael Nadal will face Simone Bolelli in the first round of the French Open following the withdrawal of Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Rafa was set to begin his bid for an 11th title at Roland Garros against Dolgopolov, but the Ukrainian pulled out to grant lucky loser Bolelli a place in the main draw.
UPDATED: Rafa took a two-set lead against Simone Bolelli in their first round match at Roland Garros before rain halted play. The pair will return tomorrow with our champ leading 6-4, 6-3, 0-3.
Date: May 29, 2018
Match time: Rafa is second match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, meaning that he should be in action sometime around 1 PM local time / 7 AM EDT – New York, Montreal / noon BST – United Kingdom / 1 PM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 9 PM AEST – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
The Italian, ranked 130 in the world, has lost all five of his meetings with Rafa and failed to win a set in each of the last four, the most recent of which came in the last 16 of the Madrid Open in 2015.
Rafa is unbeaten against lucky losers at Tour-level, and Bolelli will have to produce a huge upset if he is to become just the 3rd man to defeat Rafa in a best-of-5-sets match on clay. The Italian won just 5 games when the pair met in the 1st round in Paris 6 years ago.
| Year | Event | Surface | RND | Winner | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Spain |
Outdoor Clay | R16 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2014 | Basel Switzerland |
Indoor Hard | R32 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2012 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | R128 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2010 | Doha Qatar |
Outdoor Hard | R32 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2009 | Rotterdam Netherlands |
Indoor Hard | R32 | Rafael Nadal |
Our champ is 79-2 for his career at Roland Garros and has won the French Open 10 times, including last year.
Rafa has dominated the spring European clay swing, winning 11th titles at both the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (d. Nishikori) and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Tsitsipas), in addition to his 32nd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown — and eighth — Internazionali BNL d’Italia last week (d. A. Zverev). With a 23-2 mark this year, he has compiled a 19-1 record on red dirt.
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Sources: ATP World Tour, ITF
GOOD LUCK RAFA XXX
Waiting to see Rafa having fun on clay again. All the best.
RAFA ROCKS
VAMOS SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) ) : ) : ) 🙂 : ) : ) : ) : ) Enjoy your Sunday and have a beautiful Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) ; ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) It will be a great match for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) Sending lots of love & happiness & Vamos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Keep smiling! : ) XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Good luck and Vamos Rafa <3
Dolgopolov could have been a tough competitor for a first round match for Rafa but if he is injured my sympathies. I do not like to see any player injured. However Bolelli should not present any problems.
I agree that this is a more favourable draw for Rafa than I can remember. He usually gets the worst.
I read on another site that several people ( possibly Djokovic or Federer fans ) protested that Rafa always got good draws and that was why he won so much.!! Do these people really watch tennis ..???
Beverley, I do agree about Dolgopolov being a potential tough first-round opponent but only if he were healthy. Alex has hardly played this year due to a lingering wrist injury since January.
On clay in 2018, he lost in the first round both in Rome and in Casablanca.
Coupled with his wrist injury and his other medical problems I think it would have been an easy win for Rafa in this tournament, maybe even easier than Bolelli.
I did read some comments about Rafa “being handed” the trophy in a comments section after an article about the draw. I had to laugh because it simply showed how clueless some people can be.
Although draws inevitably change, I was quite pleased that Rafa’s section didn’t include the most troublesome players…and only one of them can win to possibly reach the QF and beyond.
RAFA ROCKS
Not Rafa’s fault he’s supremely talented & works hard for every point. He never takes anything for granted,unlike some people who seem to resent his skills. Whoever succeeds and lifts the trophy at a slam has to win 7 matches. They can only play the draw they are given. I wish people could just enjoy the brilliant tennis he plays,the effort he puts into everything he does as he will not be playing for many more years and who is going to provide the thrills among the next generation? I can’t see anyone. He’s unique and special and we should be grateful we are able to enjoy him and his tennis.
Rafa all the best for your first Roland Garros match tomorrow,
Love and prayers,
AlaineXX
Congrats Rafa with win Real 3-1!
I wish you the same luck for your 11th!
Yours sincerely, fan as of 2004,
Funda,
from The Netherlands
Rafa received a very friendly draw; something I haven’t seen in some time. I hope whatever lies ahead of him at Roland-Garos is even friendlier. This draw will surely change as it has already done before Rafa’s first match.
RAFA ROCKS
Correction: Roland-Garros
Gareth Bale of Real Madrid stole the show tonight with his REMARKABLE goal against Liverpool. A goal to remember.
I can just imagine Rafa rejoicing about the final score: 3-1.
This is the first soccer/football game I have ever watch. I was pleasantly surprised about the lack of violence knowing the reputation of soccer/football fans. It was a VERY exciting game.
There was one Liverpool player who seemed to be playing unfairly. Don’t know his name but he got into at least two skirmishes with Real Madrid players from what I saw. Someone, maybe a referee, held up a yellow card for this player.
Good luck sweet Rafa ❤️🍀☀️
VAMOOS CHAMP! 🎾💪🏼😘
Man, this should be a “cake walk” for Rafa lol!!! I’m loving his draw. The bottom half is loaded lol… I hope he gets a draw like this at wimbledon switching Cilic for Thiem lol!!!
Our coverage by TSN via Shaw in Winnipeg Manitoba is poor….channels are changed, I have them all, but with no explanations or continuity. Several of us here are huge fans of Rafa and rely on other sources like yourselves for information. Many Thanks Jean Palmer. Winnipeg MB
Sent from my iPad
>