The French Open 2021 has begun and both the players and fans are quite exhilarated about the tournament. The excitement begins from the very first round as World No.3 and the 13-time French Open winner, Rafael Nadal, will play his first match against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.

Rafael Nadal v Alexei Popyrin: Preview

Rafael Nadal will begin his campaign at the French Open 2021 against Alexei Popyrin. Coming to Paris after winning his tenth Italian Open title, Rafa has the momentum with him. He has won two clay-court tournaments this year and certainly looks the favorite to win the Grand Slam one more time.

On the other hand, Popyrin has also enjoyed some success on the tour this year. He won his first ATP title in Singapore and has an impressive 15-8 win-loss record on tour this season. Interestingly, he just has one title less than Nadal this year.

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While Nadal will come prepared to return the powerful and high serves of Popyrin, the Australian will have to find an answer to Rafa’s deadly forehands. The Spaniard uses the forehand to return most of the shots of his opponent and in a situation like this, Popyrin will certainly try to attack the backhand of Rafa.

Rafael Nadal v Alexei Popyrin: Head-to-Head

The two have faced each other only once in their careers so far. Intriguingly, the match was at the Mutua Madrid Open 2021, where Rafa thrashed Popyrin in straight sets. As a result, the World No.3 player leads the head-to-head battle 1-0 right now.

Nadal v Popyrin: Prediction

Rafa will definitely be starting the match as the favorite player. It’ll not be amazing if he manages to finish the match in three sets only. However, Popyrin has the potential to turn the tables around.

Standing 6’5”, the Australian can create a lot of problems for Nadal while serving. Fans recently witnessed how Alexander Zverev defeated Nadal at the Madrid Open by delivering some high serves at a speed of about 220 km/hr consistently.

Whatever be the case, fans are quite excited to see Rafael Nadal back on the court. Will the Spaniard be able to win his 21st Grand Slam in Paris this year?

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