French Open '09: Nadal Drives for Five, Others Look to Survive

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The King of Clay Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for a 5thConsecutive French Open title as the 128 player field is set to begin doing battle on the fabled tennis grounds of Roland Garros Sunday.

If Nadal can accomplish the feat he will become the first ever to do it (leaving legendary Bjorn Borg behind), and he will also become the first player since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the first two Grand-Slams of the calendar year.

While the indomitable Nadal, undefeated in 28 previous matches on the Roland Garros clay, is the heavy favorite coming in, his loss to Roger Federer last weekend in Madrid has given the No. 2 ranked player (and a few other gunners in the top 10) a glimmer of hope.

Though it may be a small glimmer, maybe more like a ridiculously small sliver, it does exist, and it has the tennis world abuzz as the day of reckoning draws nearer.

But when the rubber soles hit the clay, that glimmer will more than likely be obscured.

In Nadal we are talking about a true phenom—he's lost one set in two years on the Paris clay—and his hiccup in Madrid may very well cause him to come out of the gates stronger this year, in spite of the glimmer of hope that his beleaguered adversaries have gleaned from the affair.

Truth be told, this should be another cakewalk for Rafa, barring injury—beating the King of Clay in a three set match in a lesser event is one thing, but taking him out in a five set match at Roland Garros is entirely and unequivocally another.

The Spaniard is just too strong, too determined, and his voracious desire to win leaves him head and shoulders above even his staunchest competition.

That being said, don't make the mistake of thinking this years French Open is not must-see T.V. The longer Nadal'sgrip on Roland Garros lasts, the more compelling it is to watch. His superhuman endurance, agility, and focus are the stuff of legend; rare, remarkable, and nearly unfathomable.

And if the unthinkable happens—if Rafa loses a set, maybe two, at any point during the fortnight, you don't want to be the person who forgot to set your alarm clock.

Either way, tennis fans can't lose this year: either we get the first player ever to win five consecutive French Open titles, or we get the biggest upset of the year, perhaps the decade, perhaps ever.

While it seems unlikely, if Federer finds a way to turn his glimmer of hope into his first French Open title, and his 14th Grand-Slam, well then folks, we might just have another candidate for the greatest match of all time.


A look at the Draws:

Nadal's Quarter: Lot's of strong players are scattered all around Rafa's part of the draw, b

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