French Open 2013: Dark-Horse Candidates to Make Deep Runs at Roland Garros

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 25, 2013

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While it's only natural that most tennis fans are talking about the likes of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova in relation to the 2013 French Open, there are some soft spots in both draws that could potentially lead to some surprising names making it deep in tournament.

The absence of the injured Andy Murray in the men's draw definitely opens things up as the "Big Four" have become the "Big Three" and a semifinal spot is seemingly there for the taking. Also, while Williams and Sharapova appear to be the dominant players on the women's side, neither is a clay-court specialist, so there are upsets to be had.

Here are some potential dark-horse candidates on both the men's and women's sides who could make some noise and last much longer than anticipated at Roland Garros.

 

Nicolas Almagro

While nobody measures up to Rafael Nadal, it seems as though most Spanish players are very good at playing on clay. That is the case with world No. 13 Nicolas Almagro as well.

Almagro hasn't had the greatest 2013 season, thus far, as he has yet to win a title, but he has reached two finals, and his track record on clay is impeccable. Almagro has reached 20 finals in his career and won 12 tournaments, all of which came on clay.



Almagro has never advanced past the quarterfinals at the French Open, but this could be his year. Not only has he excelled on clay in the past, but he has really developed other areas of his game that could potentially help him at Roland Garros. According to tennis journalist Chris Goldsmith, Almagro is third among top-20 players on tour this year in aces per match.



Serving is an underrated aspect of clay-court play as great serves can get opponents off balance, which is a death wish on clay. When you mix that with great movement, Almagro has all the tools.

Perhaps most importantly, Almagro is in the easies...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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