2014 French Open - Can Rafael Nadal make it 9 titles in 10 attempts?

Can Nadal continue his dominance at French open?

If there’s one player in tennis history that has ever had a clear monopoly on claycourts, it has to be the Spaniard Rafael Nadal. With 13 Grand Slams to his name, he has had a remarkable run at the French Open, winning eight times out of his nine appearances there, losing just one match ever.

What makes Rafael Nadal so special on the claycourt? To get the answer to that question, we’ll have to actually look at the reverse – what about his game doesn’t scream ‘claycourt greatness’? Be it his aggressive style of play, phenomenal stamina or never-say-die attitude, he’s no doubt the undisputed King of the dirt.

Nadal is not just excellent on a claycourt, he’s nearly unbeatable. Let’s look at this statistically and see how good Nadal was at the 2013 French Open.

In last year’s tournament, Nadal was at the peak of his game. Apart from the semi-final against Novak Djokovic, none of his matches went to a fifth and final set, which proves the command he had over his game. Mind you, at the time he was only three months into his comeback from a long injury layoff, and he would suffer a recurrence of his knee problems immediately after the tournament that would force him to take another short break from the game (after Wimbledon, that is). It’s astonishing that he could still be at his best despite not being in his prime as far as fitness was concerned.

Nadal clinched the all-important match against Djokovic in the semis 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7. After playing such an intense match, there was still one more match left, and on the line was Nadal’s unbeaten streak in the French Open final. But true to his nickname, he indeed played like the ‘King of Clay’ and clinched the final with ease against his countryman David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Nadal had successfully defended his French Open title for the third time in a row, and sixth time overall.

With the 2014 French Open  just a month away, the big question that arises is – can Rafael Nadal make it 9 out of 10? In the last one year, there have been many instances where Djokovic has had the better of Nadal, but only one of  those has come on clay, in the Monte Carlo final. It goes without saying that the Serb will be the main challenger to Nadal this year too, and Nadal will have to put the memory of their recent Miami encounter out of his mind if he has to regain his supremacy over Djokovic.

Among those currently playing, there is only one player apart from Nadal who has a French Open title to his name, and that is Roger Federer. Can Federer spoil Nadal’s dream of winning his ninth Roland Garros title? It doesn’t seem likely.

This year’s French Open promises to be an epic battle. There’s a lot at stake for Nadal who last year came back to tennis after a long-term injury. He will be certainly looking to add another prestigious French Open title to his tally of Grand Slams. But will he succeed?

That remains to be seen.