Rafael Nadal’s incredible 14 French Open titles have made him synonymous with the tournament, but Daniil Medvedev believes things are slightly different this year. As the Spaniard continues his return from a prolonged injury lay-off, the field is much more open than usual.

On being asked about the favorites for the French Open during his latest press conference in Rome, after his loss to Tommy Paul 6-1, 6-4, Medvedev, without naming Nadal. acknowledged that the field at this year’s French Open was more “open”.

Naming his picks, Medvedev chose Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz as top contenders, noting that both enjoy playing on the surface and have won Grand Slam titles so far.

“I think if Novak Djokvovic and Carlos Alcaraz play, they’re two big favorites,” Daniil Medvedev said. “They like the surface. They can win Grand Slams.”

“But now it’s maybe little bit more open than it was ever before. Good for me, too, because usually in Roland Garros I don’t play that well. The more open it is, the better it is for me,” he added.

Elaborating further, Medvedev said if one were to go by the ATP rankings, Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz remained the frontrunners.

He also fancied his chances at the tournament, as well as that of Stefanos Tsitsipas, the recent Monte-Carlos Masters champion.

“I think we should go by the ranking: Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, if he plays,” Daniil Medvedev said. “I don’t know. Carlos Alcaraz, if he plays. I don’t know.”

“Then it’s me, No. 4. Who won Monte-Carlo? Stef. If he wins here, could be big favorite, for sure. If he wins two Masters 1000s, he’s one of the favorites, too,” he added.

Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal crash out of Italian Open

Both Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev have exited the Italian Open, the season’s final Masters 1000 event on the red dirt.

While Nadal had made a second-round exit after losing to Hubert Hurkacz, Medvedev was shown the door in the fourth round by Tommy Paul.

Addressing his performance in the post-match press conference, Medvedev described the match as “tough” before emphasizing the need to work on his mental strength.

“Yeah, was a tough one,” Daniil Medvedev said. “Mentally I had to be much better. I started to calm myself down and focus on the match only at the end of the match, and it was too late. I had to do better. I was expecting myself to play better.”

Both Nadal and Medvedev will now be seen in action at the French Open, which commences on May 20.