Rafael Nadal is still the favourite at Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic is "probably the favourite everywhere else": Jim Courier

Jim Courier recently enlightened on the Slam race among the Big 3. Opining that both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic would likely add to their tallies next year. Heading into 2022, Courier sees Nadal as the Roland Garros favourite and Djokovic as the man to beat at the other three Grand Slam events.

The legendary trio of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are currently tied at 20 Major titles. That is the all-time record in men's tennis. In 2021 Djokovic won three Slams, but Nadal missed out on a Major for the first season since 2016.

Read also: Rafael Nadal returns to the practice court

Federer's last Grand Slam triumph, meanwhile, came at the 2018 Australian Open.

In a conversation with Tennis Channel, Courier gave his assessment of Nadal's chances and picked the 13-time French Open champion as the favourite for the 2022 edition of the event. The Spaniard suffered a foot injury at Roland Garros in June and cut his season short after making just one more appearance - at the Citi Open in August.

"For Rafa, how is he going to respond?" Courier continued. "How is his foot going to respond after sitting out a lot of this season trying to fix that after it went out on him at Roland Garros? He's still the favourite at Roland Garros - slightly, slightly, slightly over Novak in my opinion - assuming they're both healthy."

Jim Courier also expressed his belief that Novak Djokovic is the favourite to win the Australian Open. Wimbledon and US Open titles in 2022. The American thinks, however, that Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev are close to the Serb's level on hardcourts given their strong finishes to the season on the surface.