It is well known that it is a herculean task to stun Rafael Nadal at the French Open. The Spaniard has won 13 French Open titles and he will be gunning for his 14th title. There are players like Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas who can challenge Nadal on clay.

However, the talisman will enter the competition high on confidence after winning his 12th Barcelona Open and 10th Italian Open title. Former World No.1 Alex Corretja believes that Austria’s Dominic Thiem can cause a bit of problems to Rafael Nadal if he plays at the top of his game.

Corretja feels Thiem has a complete game and he can challenge Nadal in the upcoming Roland Garros. In fact, Thiem had made it to the finals of 2018 and 2019 French Open but could not cross the last hurdle against Nadal.

“Yes, there are guys out there who can [challenge Nadal]. There is Novak [Djokovic] of course, there is [Stefanos] Tsitsipas,” Corretja told Eurosport.

“There is [Alexander] Zverev, there is [Diego] Schwartzman – all whom can play well. Of course, we see others like [Matteo] Berrettini, Casper Ruud, these guys can stay with Rafa but I’m just not sure they can over five sets.

“If Thiem is well, then he is probably the one that Rafa can suffer the most against on clay because of the styles of games.

“He has got a good forehand, a good backhand, a good serve, he doesn’t need to go so far back to hit his backhand. But I still feel it is in Rafa’s hands more than anybody else.”

Meanwhile, Thiem hasn’t been in the best of forms in the recent past and it will not be easy for him to go past Nadal at French Open if they clash.