• Chris Wilkinson

Paris performances bode well for Wimbledon

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met in a grand slam final for the first time since January 2009 © Getty Images

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It may not have been Rafael Nadal's most emphatic French Open title, but it was probably the most satisfying. His four-set victory over Roger Federer saw him equal Bjorn Borg's record of six titles at Roland Garros and further stake his claim to be the greatest clay-court player of all time.

He got better as the tournament progressed, and that's the right way to do it. It's all very well producing world-beating form in your first-round match, but if you then start to fade away in the later rounds you won't get very far. He had a bit of a scare in the first round against John Isner but he came through that unscathed.

To be honest I think he needed a match like that - his confidence had taken a bit of a battering with those two defeats to Novak Djokovic in Rome and Madrid, and it probably gave him a lot of confidence.

I think Federer was more than happy to fly under the radar in the build up to the tournament. All the focus was on Nadal and Djokovic and everyone seemed to dismiss his chances far too easily. I actually had some money on Federer to win but even I was impressed with just how well he played.

He had his chances as well - and at times in the final he was the better player on the court against Nadal, but he let the opportunities pass him by. He was 5-2 up in the first set and flying, and he missed a drop shot on set point.

If he had won one of the first two sets (and he had his chances) he could have had a real chance of winning - but he gave himself too much to do going two sets down against Nadal at Roland Garros.

When Federer was playing well he was better than Nadal, but he didn't play his best tennis at the right time. The Spaniard played at a consistently high level throughout and Federer just couldn't maintain his challenge. He lost important shots at crucial times and that is what cost him. The Federer of old would have been more ruthless and wouldn't have let those opportunities pass him by.

Djokovic's streak had to come to an end at some point and there is no shame in being beaten in a quality match by arguably the greatest player to ever walk onto a tennis court. I am sure he would have rather lost in the lead up to the French Open but won at Roland Garros, but he won't have too many complaints. His form has been amazing and to go 43 matches unbeaten in an era with Nadal and Federer is phenomenal.

He has taken the game to a new level and the others are being forced to keep up with him. He has been playing so unbelievably well that it was only going to be one of the top players that would finally beat him. I don't think the defeat to Federer will be too damaging. He has taken the week off instead of playing at Queen's and he will be one of the favourites heading into Wimbledon.

Back at the beginning of the clay-court season I did predict that Murray would have a strong season on clay, and a semi-final showing at Roland Garros is a great result for him. There was no pressure on him and he was playing with greater freedom. His clay-court game has improved a lot in the past couple of months, although the French Open draw certainly opened up for him - playing Juan Ignacio Chela in the quarter-finals was pretty fortunate when Nadal had to play Robin Soderling and Federer had Gael Monfils.

But given that he had a couple of injury worries, he did really well and will take a lot of confidence into the grass-court season.

With all these guys playing some fantastic tennis I think we are in for a treat at Wimbledon, but of course you can't discount Juan Martin del Potro. He had an unlucky draw facing Djokovic so early in Paris, but he is back to his best. I expect him to have a good summer, so long as he can stay fit.

Success at Wimbledon is so dependent on fitness and the ability to adapt so quickly to the grass as it comes around so quickly - the AEGON Championships at Queen's started less than 24 hours after the French Open finished. The top guys have the advantage that they can afford not to play at Queen's or Halle if they don't want to and they can spend time on the practice courts instead.

Andy Murray's clay-court game has improved © Getty Images

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In an ideal world we would have an extra couple of weeks between the end of the French and the start of Wimbledon as it is such a quick turnaround for the players but the schedule is so busy it is unlikely to ever happen.

One player to keep your eye on in the coming weeks is the young Canadian Milos Raonic. He made a name for himself at the Australian Open earlier this year but he has the perfect game to suit the grass. He has a monster serve and is very aggressive - he is definitely one to look out for.

Li Na's French Open victory is a great achievement and a wonderful story - for her and for Chinese tennis and could spark greater interest in the sport across Asia. Obviously other than Li, Marion Bartoli impressed me, while Maria Sharapova looks like she is back to her best and could be a real danger at Wimbledon.

The top two seeds Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki were disappointing - both crashing out in the first week. I doubt Clijsters was fully fit - I think she came back too soon from her ankle injury - if it hadn't have been a grand slam she probably wouldn't have returned as early as she did. She didn't seem interested to be honest.

Wozniacki's schedule needs seriously addressing. For the world No. 1 to be playing a tournament the week before a slam seems crazy to me - she played in Brussels the week before - I know she is young but she needs to be careful she doesn't burn out.

She has now gone off to Copenhagen to compete in a hard-court tournament - two weeks before the grass court major - whether she is being badly advised or has too many obligations to her sponsors - either way her tennis must come first and she needs to take responsibility for that. But the bottom line is unless she starts playing more aggressively she is never going to win a major.

Chris Wilkinson is a former British No. 1

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