With his quarterfinal loss to Stan Wawrinka in Rome, Rafael Nadal could be the No. 7 seed at the French Open, his lowest ever seeding at the clay-court Grand Slam. The Spaniard had been ranked in the Top 5 for over a decade before his loss to Andy Murray in last week’s Madrid final.
That means Nadal could meet one of his biggest rivals—Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray—in the quarterfinals of the French Open, depending on his draw.
“I’m going to be ranked lower than ever playing Roland Garros, so that will mean the chance to play against very tough opponents,” said the nine-time champion.
Apart from his loss to Fabio Fognini in Barcelona and Murray in Madrid, Nadal says he has been happy with his play during the clay-court season. The 28-year-old also won Buenos Aires and reached the semifinals of Rio, his first two clay-court tournaments.
Coming back at the beginning of the season from injury and illness, Nadal has pointed to nervous play in some matches as the reason for his inconsistent level.
“The goal is Paris is always the same one,” Nadal said after his loss in Rome. “I’m playing well. I’m confident that if I can play without nerves—I didn’t play with nerves today, I didn’t play with nerves most of the time the last three weeks, and that’s the most important thing for me.”
Nadal could move up a spot in the seedings if Milos Raonic does not play following recent foot surgery.