John Millman advised fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios to forgo Roland Garros, focusing instead on Wimbledon preparation.
As the 2023 tennis season continues, all eyes are on the Grand Slam tournaments, and one of the most anticipated events is the Roland Garros. That is for many reasons and one of them is that we could see Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic fight for the 23rd Grand Slam title.
Amelie Mauresmo and the French Tennis Federation (FTT) are eager to make this year's Roland Garros a success, following the financial challenges they faced in recent editions of the tournament.
In a piece written for News.com.au, 33-year-old Australian, John Millman, who doesn't spend so much time on the ATP Tour anymore, suggested that the event needs to have a lot of success in 2023 and Nick Kyrgios may be one of the players that brings that success.
"I’m sure there are many Tournament Directors that would love that return come at their tournament, none more so than Amelie Mauresmo at the French Open. Roland Garros needs a great 2023 edition."
"The FTT (French Tennis Federation) had to dive deep into their financial reserves to host the Covid 20/21 tournaments and are still scrambling to recoup the losses sustained in those tournaments. It’s therefore imperative that the tournament this year is a success, but so far not everything has gone to plan."
There are a few reasons why the Roland Garros may struggle to be attractive this year and those two reasons are two players with most Grand Slam titles to their names. The 22-time major winner Rafael Nadal has been struggling with injuries since the season started and he withdrew from every tournament since the Australian Open.
"News of Rafael Nadal’s injury setback has had people casts doubts if he’ll be right for another assault at the tournament he has dominated since 2005, with a stunning 14 titles."
Unfortunately for the tennis world, Novak Djokovic isn't any better right now. Fellow 22-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from Madrid and he also didn't play well in Banja Luka. However, speaking recently, Millman suggested that Djokovic is still the biggest favourite for him at Roland Garros.
"Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic was a notable absentee at the recent Madrid Open, a key lead up to the French Open, after looking less than 100% in his previous outing in Banja Luka."
Therefore, according to Millman, the answers to Roland Garros' questions are Nick Kyrgios. The Australian proved many times that he can attract big crowds and the 2023 Roland Garros could be the same.
"A box office player making his return to play is exactly what Mauresmo and her team needs. The question is should Nick answer her calls? But for me, there are question marks concerning the amount of success he can have on the clay courts of the French Open."
But Millman suggests that Kyrgios should instead shift his focus to the Wimbledon Championships. Event, where he is the defending finalist and could enjoy a lot of success also this year.
"Nick will be wanting matches before Wimbledon and Roland Garros could provide him with these, but I can’t help but feel he’s good enough to once again do what he’s done so many times in his career - put all his chips on the table, skip the clay and go all in for the grass. Mauresmo would love the Kyrgios show in Paris, but if I were Nick I’d be letting her calls go to voicemail."
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