A younger lot: On the 2023 French Open

Without Nadal, there is no clear favourite at Roland-Garros

The Hindu editorial today in Hindi

For nearly two decades, a champion other than Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros has been as elusive as a shadow at high noon on solar equinox. Ever since he made his debut in 2005, the legendary Spaniard has won the event a record 14 times, losing just three of his 115 matches. The occasional uprisings against his ironclad rule, mainly from Novak Djokovic, were crushed with characteristic menace; Nadal leads the Serb 8-2 on Parisian clay. French Open 2023, however, is set to herald a shift, for Nadal will miss the event for the first time since 2004 because of the hip injury that has kept him out since January. There are signs that a change of guard is in the offing in men’s tennis in general. With Roger Federer retired and Djokovic out of form, the once vice-like hold of the ‘Big Three’ is at its weakest. Djokovic is a two-time champion and will be motivated to break the tie with Nadal on 22 Majors. But Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning World No.1 and winner of the French Open tune- up events in Barcelona and Madrid, seems primed to occupy centre stage. The 20-year-old has already established his Slam-winning credentials (2022 US Open), and a follow-up act will only embellish his status as the game’s chosen one.

The Hindu editorial free today

Challenging him will be the Scandinavian duo of No.4 Casper Ruud, who lost the 2022 summit clash to Nadal, and No.6 Holger Rune, finalist at both Monte Carlo and Rome recently. Daniil Medvedev has developed a newfound love for the red dirt following his success in Rome last week, but the Russian No.2 is at best a wild card, alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, and Alexander Zverev. In contrast and in a departure from the past it is the women’s field that wears a settled look, with Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina forming a dominant troika. They have swept the last four Majors and the Roland-Garros preparatory tournaments in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome. If anything, Swiatek is just the first among equals, by virtue of being the World No.1, a two- time winner in Paris and a three-time Major champion. Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who finished runner-up at Wimbledon and US Open in 2022, is coming back from a calf injury, but her triumphs in Madrid last year and Charleston in early April prove that she is a genuine contender. So is Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 singles and doubles champion. All of this suggests there is no clear favourite, but no dark horses either.

The Hindu Vocabulary PDF 2023

Vocabulary

1. Lot (noun) a particular group or set of people or things. समूह

2. Roland-Garros (noun) – The French Open also known as Roland-Garros is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France.

3. Decade (noun) – A period of 10 years दशक

4. Elusive (adjective) – difficult to find, achieve हाथ न आनेवाला

5. Solar equinox (noun) – Time of the year when the sun is nearest to the equatorial plane giving equal lengths of day and night

6. Debut (noun) – introduction, first appearance, premiere लोगों के सामने पहली उपस्थिति

7. Legendary (adjective) – remarkable. enough to be famous; very well known प्रसिद्ध

8. Spaniard (noun) Rafael Nadal

9. Occasional (adjective) – Infrequent, rare, irregular कभी-कभार

10. Uprising (noun) – rebellion, rising, revolt, insurrection, revolution विद्रोह

11. Ironclad (adjective) – very certain and unlikely to be changed अतिदृढ़

12. Crush (verb) suppress, quell, quash, defeat, put down दमन करना

13. Characteristic (adjective) – typical, distinctive, representative, idiosyncratic, विशेषता-सूचक

14. Menace (noun) – threat, danger, peril, hazard खतरा

15. The Serb (noun) – Here it refers to Novak Djokovic.

16. Set (to) (verb) – be ready to do something के लिए तैयार होना

17. Herald (noun) – forerunner, harbinger, precursor, sign, indicator सूचक

18. Keep out (phrasal verb) – prevent, stop, exclude, keep at bay बाहर रखना

19. A change of guard (phrase) – a situation where there is a change in control or leadership

20. In the offing (phrase) impending, coming, approaching, looming आने वाले दिनों में

The Hindu Vocabulary PDF with Hindi Meaning

21. In general (phrase) – broadly, usually, typically, commonly सामान्य तौर पर

22. Break the tie (phrase) an extra game which is played in a tennis match when the score in a set is 6-6

23. Reigning (adjective) current, ruling, incumbent, regnant मौजूदा

24. Tune-up (adjective) – a sporting event that serves as a practice for a subsequent event.

25. Seem (verb) – appear, look, give the impression प्रतीत होना

26. Primed (adjective) – prepared, ready, set, poised तैयार

27. Center stage (noun) – Important position अहम् स्थान

28. Establish (verb) – set up, found, institute, form स्थापित करना

29. Credential (noun) – achievement, quality, or aspect of a person’s background उपलब्धि

30. Follow-up (adjective) – subsequent succeeding, ensuing, successive अनुगामी

31. Embellish (verb) – enhance, adorn, decorate, beautify सजाना, सुशोभित करना

32. Scandinavian (adjective) – relating to Scandinavia, its people, or their languages

33. Duo (noun) – pair, twosome, couple a लोगों की जोड़ी

34. Summit clash (noun) – Final match फाइनल मैच

35. The red dirt (noun) – a term often used in tennis to refer to the red clay courts लाल मिट्टी

36. Following (preposition) – after, subsequent to, succeeding के बाद

37. Be at best (phrase) – potentially reach the maximum, at the highest level, at most, at the pinnacle, at the apex सर्वाधिक स्थिति में

38. A wild card (noun) – an opportunity to enter a sports competition without having to take part in qualifying matches or be ranked at a particular level.

39. Alongside (adverb) – next to, beside, with, parallel to, adjacent to के साथ-साथ

40. In contrast (phrase) – on the other hand, conversely, in opposition, by comparison, in comparison विपरीत रूप में

41. Departure (noun) – deviation, divergence, shift, change, alteration विचलन, प्रस्थान

42. Dominant (adjective) – predominant, principal, primary, leading, commanding प्रबल

43. Troika (noun) – triad, trio, triune, threesome, tripartite तिकड़ी

44. Sweep (verb) – win or succeed at easily जीत हासिल करना

45. Majors (noun) -The Grand Slam tournaments, also referred to as majors, are the world’s four most important annual professional tennis tournaments.

46. Preparatory (adjective) – preliminary, introductory, initial, prelusive, antecedent प्रारंभिक

47. By virtue of (phrase) – due to, because of, as a result of, on account of, in view of के कारण

48. Runner-up (noun) – second in line, second best, next best, second place, next in order दूसरे स्थान पर

49. Calf injury (noun) – muscle strain, leg injury, muscle damage, muscle tear, leg damage पिंडली में चोट

50. Triumph (noun) – victory, win, success, achievement, accomplishment विजय

51. Contender (noun) competitor, rival, contestant, challenger, opponent प्रतिस्पर्धी

52. Dark horse (noun) – a candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–