Rafael Nadal broke down the opponents he believes can halt his quest for a 14th French Open, including an in-form Norwegian 22-year-old

• Rafael Nadal believes rising star Casper Ruud can challenge him for the French Open this year.
• "Ruud has had a great clay court season," Nadal told Insider of the 22-year-old Norwegian.
• Nadal, who has 13 titles at Roland-Garros, added that he is "feeling good" ahead of the tournament.

Rafael Nadal is the French Open's most successful ever player having won a record 13 titles.

Victory at this year's edition of Rolland-Garros would not only extend his winning streak at the tournament to five consecutive wins, but also see him become tennis' most successful ever men's player.

The Spaniard has won 20 Grand Slam titles during his glistening career - a figure that currently sees him tied at the top of the all-time leaderboard with his great rival Roger Federer.

Surpassing the Swiss superstar, however, will be no easy feat, with Nadal believing there to be a number of players, Federer included, who can challenge him for his prospective record-breaking title in Paris.

"I think there is plenty of players that are doing great," Nadal told Insider ahead of the tournament, before singling out rising Norwegian star Casper Ruud, who he said "has had a great clay court season."

Ruud, 22, won the Argentina Open in February 2020 to claim his first ever ATP singles title, before making the final of the Chile Open a month later.

This season, the Norwegian, who is 21st in the ATP world rankings, reached the semifinals of both the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open.

This week, he qualified for the final of the Geneva Open, where he will face either Pablo Cuevas or Denis Shapovalov on Saturday.

Nadal also namechecked five of the world's top 15 players as potential threats to him securing a five-peat in Paris.

"Dominic Thiem, he's always a big candidate," Nadal said. "[Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Alexander] Zverev, [Andrey] Rublev, maybe [Denis] Shapovalov.

"I really believe that there are plenty of players that are doing well. There is a lot of great players that are in good shape.

"And of course, there are the players that we know, like Novak and Roger. So let's see what can happen."

Nadal is in great form himself

After a heavily disrupted 2020 season, Nadal has started the 2021 campaign in great form, winning the Barcelona Open in April and then the Italian Open in May. In the latter tournament, he beat Novak Djokovic in the final.

Such form, Nadal says, has left him feeling confident going into Roland-Garros next week.

"I feel good," the 34-year-old, who recently became an ambassador for beer brand Amstel, said.

"I [have] played consistently, winning two events, two quarterfinals and I am playing better at the end of the clay season than when I started.

"Winning in Rome has been a positive thing for me."

Nadal added, however, that his form doesn't mean he will be taking anything for granted in the French capital.

"It's always the same, you need to be there, you need to arrive to Roland-Garros to get used to the conditions, to have the right practice before the tournament starts and then try to be very competitive from the beginning," he said.

"And just keep going day by day, try to play better and better. And then try to give myself a chance [to win]."

The French Open, which has been delayed a week because of COVID restrictions in France, begins on May 30.

Nadal spoke to Insider as part of his new partnership with Amstel. The Spaniard is now an ambassador of its low-calorie and alcohol-free beers, Amstel ULTRA and Amstel 0.0.