French Open 2021: Men's stats preview: Nadal eys record 14th title

Bengaluru, May 29: Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for a record 14th title at the French Open which begins on Sunday (May 30) as the clay-court tournament returns to the traditional late Parisian spring this year.

After a chilly 2020 tournament that was postponed to September-October because of the COVID-19 pandemic and held with a maximum 1,000 fans a day, this year's clay-court Grand Slam will welcome more spectators.

Up to 1,000 will be admitted into each of the three main Roland Garros showcourts while the smaller venues will be able to fill 35 per cent of their capacity during the first 10 days.

The tournament was initially scheduled for May 23-June 6 but was postponed by a week to allow more spectators to attend.

There will, also be a feel of deja vu as Roger Federer returns to Roland Garros after skipping the tournament last year, bidding to add to his record tally of 20 Grand Slam titles.

With OPTA inputs myKhel.com gives you a statistical insight on the men's draw.

#Rafael Nadal has won Roland-Garros 13 times, seven more times than any other player in the Open era (Bjorn Borg 6).

#The last time an unseeded player won a Grand Slam was back in 2004 at Roland-Garros, Gaston Gaudio beating Guillermo Coria in five sets.

#The youngest winner of the French Open is Michael Chang, 17 years, 3 months and 20 days, in 1989.

#Nadal and Roger Federer will each aim to win their 21st Grand Slam tournament and becoming the outright leader in that ranking.

#Djokovic has reached the final in seven of the last 10 Grand Slam tournaments he took part in, winning six of those; however, he has reached the final only five times in the French Open (W1 L4).

#Dominic Thiem has played two finals at Roland-Garros (2018 & 2019), more than in any other Grand Slam tournament, but lost both of them to Nadal; he has won 80 per cent of his games at the French Open, his best win rate in any of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

#Daniil Medvedev has reached the semifinals in two of his last three appearances in a Grand Slam tournament, after going further than the 4th round in only one of his previous 13 Grand Slam tournaments.

#Alexander Zverev has reached the quarterfinals in three of his last four appearances in Grand Slam tournaments, after reaching that round in only two of his previous 18 appearances.

#Andrey Rublev is the only player to have taken part in the quarterfinals during each of the last three Grand Slam tournaments, including Roland-Garros 2020, but he is yet to progress further that round however; he made 53 aces last year at Roland-Garros, at least 14 more than any other player.

#Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the last French player to have reached the semifinals at Roland-Garros, 2015, when he lost to eventual winner, Stan Wawrinka.