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French Open: Organisers right to keep Nadal’s seeding

By Geoff Nichols

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French Open: Organisers right to keep Nadal’s seeding

The French Open tournament director has confirmed that Rafael Nadal’s seeding will not be changed at this year’s tournament. Whilst the idea had been considered by the organisers, the have opted not intervene even if his ranking falls below number 4 in the world.

It is the idea that, were Nadal to fall outside of the top four, that he could be drawn to meet the likes of Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in the French Open quarter finals, that has provoked the debate as to whether his seeding should be altered.

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Add in the fact that he is most probably the greatest clay court player of all time and has lifted the title at Roland Garros on no fewer than nine occasions, you can begin to understand that he has a case for a higher seeding. Nevertheless it has been ruled out, which I believe to be the right decision.

Firstly it would not be fair to the other players if Nadal were to benefit from this alteration. If Kei Nishikori, the player closest to threatening Nadal’s place in the top four, surpassed the Spaniard in the rankings, part of his reward for doing so is a kinder draw at the Grand Slams.

Wimbledon do Alter Seeds on Grass

Grand Slams do have the power to alter seedings and Wimbledon have done this in the past. They use the rankings adjusted with a specific grass-court formula that gives more weight to events played on grass. This has come into effect before, but I also think that this should be reconsidered.

Whilst the grass court season is much shorter than the time spent on clay and hard courts (which is a different discussion entirely) I still believe that the seedings should remain untouched as with every other event on the tour. Even of Grand Slams aren’t ATP events, consistency is important.

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Similarly, players work all year round for their rankings and one of the perks of being ranked higher is a better seeding and therefore the chance of a more favourable draw. It doesn’t seem right to take that away from players who have earned it.

Ultimately this issue may not even become reality. It was a similar situation in 2013, where injuries has caused Nadal’s ranking to drop heading into the clay court season. However on the occasion won enough on the red dirt to stay on the top four by his own merits and with the Rome and Madrid Masters coming up, you wouldn’t bet against more Nadal heroics.

Next: What can Rafael Nadal achieve on the clay?

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