The favourite for Fedal?
“I still have Rafa as the strong favourite. On clay, best of five, Roger has never beaten him in that environment, so I have him as the strong favourite.”
The other half… who is the biggest threat?
“Novak, but the weather is going to play a big part. If he gets to the final and he is physically a bit below 100 per cent then his chances drop significantly. As we saw in Rome (Nadal winning 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 in the final), if Novak is not there physically on this surface against Rafa, then he is going to struggle.
“I know I’m in the minority, but if Novak and Rafa arrive at the final on even terms physically, then I have Novak as the slight favourite. The numbers show Rafa should be the favourite, red clay, on the best of five, but both at 100 per cent and what is at stake for Novak, he wins for me.”
Can Zverev or Khachanov cause a shock?
“For Zverev, he knows what he is up against, he’s beaten Novak on clay before (Rome 2017 final) and he also beat him in the ATP Finals (last November). So he will have some confidence in the match-up, but in best of five, in tough, heavy conditions, it’s going to be hard to finish the point, so that won’t help his serve get through the court.
“Why not though? He doesn’t have anything to lose, he has rarely been in these major situations, he has only got that far here. It’s a great opportunity for him to go out there, let it fly and see what happens.
“For Khachanov, he’s 1-0 over Thiem, defeating him in Bercy last year. He’s a player when he’s on fire he can just overpower anyone. Dominic Thiem is also that kind of player. So I feel sorry for the tennis balls to be honest, they’re going to be smacked around pretty hard.
“It will be interesting to see Karen, he’s recovered from a tough start to the year, we’ll see where he stands against the top, but the trickiest thing for all of them is the waiting game, seeing when they’ll actually be back on court.”