Rafael Nadal- Getty Images

Can Nadal Make it Four in a Row?

May 26, 2008

For the last three years, championship Sunday at the French Open has concluded with Spaniard Rafael Nadal hoisting the winner’s trophy at Court Philippe Chatrier. For the next two weeks, he will be battling once again on the red clay at Roland Garros as he looks to become only the second player in the history of the tournament to capture the crown in four consecutive years.

Despite his No. 2 seeding, Nadal is without a doubt the one to beat. Not only is he the three-time defending champion, but he has dominated on clay over the last three years. He boasts a perfect 21-0 record at the French Open and since April 2005 he has won an astonishing 108 of 110 matches on clay.

His run to a fourth title will not be easy, however, as the rest of the field will be doing all they can to knock out the King of Clay. World No. 1 Roger Federer (Switzerland) likely has the best chance of upending the defending champ. He has been the runner-up the last two years, pushing Nadal to four sets in both epic finals, and needs only the French Open crown to complete a career Grand Slam. Sitting on opposite sides of the draw, the world’s top two players can only meet in the final, setting up what would be a dream match-up for the tournament.

The other member of the “Big Three,” Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, is also in fine form and has what it takes to emerge as the champion. He has been solid during the clay court season this year, winning the Masters Series event in Rome and reaching the semifinals at Monte-Carlo and Hamburg. The sensational Serb also captured his first career Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open earlier this season and has reached the semifinals or better at the last four Grand Slam tournaments. He is on Nadal’s side of the draw and will have to get past the Spaniard in the semis if he hopes to compete for the trophy.

Several other players have the ability to break through at the tournament as they seek out their maiden Grand Slam titles. No. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) reached the round of four last year and could be playing in the final on Sunday if he has a big week, while No. 5 seed David Ferrer (Spain) and No. 6 David Nalbandian (Argentina) have historically played some of their best tennis on clay and could also be factors down the stretch.

Dark horses to make a splash this week include new world No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) and clay-court specialists such as No. 12 Tommy Robredo (Spain), No. 13 Juan Monaco (Argentina), No. 19 Nicolas Almagro (Spain) and No. 24 Fernando Gonzalez (Chile).

The doubles draw promises to be equally as exciting as all the top teams are ready to go. American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan occupy their regular top-seed spot while Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia are the No. 2 seeds in the draw. Nestor is the French Open defending champion, having won the title last season with former partner Mark Knowles (Bahamas). Knowles is now paired with India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and as the No. 4 seeds they could face Nestor and Zimonjic in the semis if both teams are able to advance that far. Also in the draw are the third-seeded Israeli tandem of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, the 2008 Australian Open champions, and Australian Open runner-ups Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra, who are playing in front of their hometown fans as the No. 7 seeds.