Rafael Nadal in crisis? For the first time in history, the Superman of tennis looks human

Rafael Nadal is heading into this month's French Open in uncharted territory. A 13-time champion in Paris, if Nadal is competing, he is usually nailed on to be the bookies' favourite. Such is his level of dominance at the tournament, with 105 wins and just three losses, that a statue was erected in his honour last year. Beyond Novak Djokovic's challenge over the years, the Spaniard has been close to invincible on Paris's clay.

But on Friday, the morning after he limped out of the Italian Open, the markets put history to bed and reacted accordingly: 19-year-old compatriot Carlos Alcaraz overtook Nadal as favourite for the title.

The first three months of the year proved that you should underestimate 21-time major champion Nadal at your own peril, but there really are no guarantees he will even make it to Roland Garros at this rate.

Though playing second fiddle to anyone on clay is rare for Nadal, his injury woes are not. The chronic left-foot injury which saw him fall to Denis Shapovalov in Rome on Thursday has plagued him since 2005 - the same year he won his first French Open title, on his debut. It is a condition known as Mueller-Weiss Syndrome and was the reason why he missed Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympic Games and the US Open last year, after undergoing surgery. But even with the best medical team money can buy at his disposal, this is a problem Nadal has made clear that he has no way of solving completely.