Rafael Nadal: Breaking Down French Open Champ's Road to Repeat

The French Open is right around the corner and that means it's another opportunity to see Rafael Nadal take a crack at his nearly annual title defense at Roland Garros.

It won't be an easy road to repeat for the 25-year-old, but there's a historic opportunity on the horizon if Nadal can win his seventh French Open crown and surpass Bjorn Borg for the most all-time.

Luckily for Rafa, he is on the opposite side of his two stiffest forms of competition: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Nadal's road to the French Open title will be much easier for the returning champ. It almost assures that Rafa will have a shot at the record with only a final to win.

While I don't expect a true pro like Nadal to do such a thing, it's easy to overlook the rest of his competition because of who he could face in the final. I mean, he has to get there first.

Here's a look at some of the biggest threats to upset Nadal on the road to the French Open final.

Janko Tipsarevic

After winning the first two titles of his career in 2011, Janko Tipsarevic has had a disappointing start to 2012.

He's been bounced early in each tournament he's played in, but maybe it's time Tipsarevic gets his game right. After all, he is ranked No. 8 in the world and shouldn't be taken lightly by any opponent, not even Nadal.

Tipsarevic has already proven to have a knack for the upset after he bounced Djokovic from the Madrid Open in the quarterfinals only to lose to Roger Federer after.

Clearly, pressure in a big spot isn't a problem for the Serb and Nadal could have his hands full if the two should meet at some point in the tournament.

Nicolas Almagro

Fresh off his second Nice Open win in-a-row, according to the Agence France-Presse, Almagro could be primed to take the next big step in his career with a great showing at Roland Garros.

We've never truly gotten a chance to see Almagro play on a consistent basis due to injury, as is pointed out in the AFP report, so it isn't really known what to expect from the Spain native. He's the type of quiet player one could take lightly.

The win in Nice was Almagro's second of the year and that could be all the momentum he needs to make a dent in the French Open. He's hot and Rafa is sure to get a challenge if he goes up against Almagro who comes in with all the confidence in the world.

And Almagro isn't too shabby on clay, either.

David Ferrer

Ranked sixth in the world, Ferrer is one of the players who is orbiting around the best three players on the planet, but isn't quite there amongst the best in the world.

However, Ferrer has had success on the clay in the past and even topped Rafa in the 2011 Australian Open, showing he has the ability to upset great players.

Ferrer's energy on the court is unmistakable is every aspect of his game and he has the skill set to outlast a great like Nadal.

Being the best player in his bracket combined with the fact that he is a clay court specialist, Ferrer is the favorite to take on Nadal in the semifinals of this tournament. He is easily the biggest threat to Nadal's run at a repeat before he even gets to the final.