For Maylin, Nadal will be the one to watch at the Olympics: "You've got Nadal hitting the ball like crazy".
These Olympic Games are likely to be unlike any other. Indeed, while the men and women players have abandoned clay for grass to prepare for Wimbledon, they will soon have to go the other way round, as the Paris Olympic Games will be held at Roland-Garros, on clay.
This difficult readjustment has even prompted several top players to give up the Olympic event (Rublev, Khachanov, Tiafoe, Sabalenka, Jabeur...).
However, according to Benoît Maylin, this umpteenth change of surface could favour the chances of a certain Rafael Nadal, who has stayed on clay: "Apart from 1992, this is the first time we'll be coming out of Wimbledon with all the big names playing on clay. Before, we played on hard court or stayed at Wimbledon, as was the case in 2012.
Now we're going to play on clay, which is already a very, very hard surface that requires a lot of adaptation. Meanwhile, you know that Nadal is hitting the ball like crazy. You think to yourself: 'Gee, what's the disadvantage?
But if you decide to play Wimbledon, you play it to the hilt, of course. It's Wimbledon!"