Coco Gauff’s Coach Hits Back at French Open for Rafael Nadal’s Cruel Draw With a Viable Solution for 14x Champion
Rafael Nadal is back at Roland Garros once again! But, there is a twist to the story. Nadal, who holds the 276th rank in the ATP and is currently unseeded, will have to play the draw against Alexander Zverev in the first round. As soon as this news surfaced, various opinions on the subject drew the attention of the fans. Coco Gauff’s coach, Brad Gilbert’s latest post, is also one of them.
“If you are not seeded, you can play anyone of the other 127 players in the draw ✍️1st rd, , the tournament 🏟 could have chosen to seed Vamos-Rafa but hardly ever change the seeds here to my knowledge, this is how a random draw ✍️ comes out for better or worse,” Gilbert posted on his official X account today. The former World No. 1 has seen a rapid fall in his ranking over the last few years. With his constant struggles with hip injuries and muscle tears, the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, has also stayed away from tennis for the majority of last year.
This has further impacted his career rankings. As a result, now, when he is all set to play his possibly last French Open tournament, he still remains unseeded. This is because only the 32 highest-ranked players are seeded. As a result, his initial round opponents will be among the top players in the world. And Alexander Zverev ( World No. 4) will be the first among them. According to Gilbert, this should not be the case for the Spaniard. He suggested that instead of such “a random draw”, Rafael Nadal should be given a chance to be seeded.
