French Open 2012: Novak Djokovic Will Not Capture Grand Slam Title

Novak Djokovic won a hard-fought five-set bout against Italian Andreas Seppi in the fourth round of the French Open, but the Serbian's hard work will be for naught. Djokovic is the top-seeded men's player at the French, but as long as Rafael Nadal is still in the tournament, Djoker cannot win the title.

Nadal is the unquestioned king of the clay surface, with a record-tying six French Open titles to his name already in his career.

Arguably the top two men's players are the odds-on favorites to reach the finals, but Nadal's recent dominance and court-advantage put him on a different level than his rival at Roland Garros.

The Spaniard has won two of the past three tournaments heading into the French, taking home this year's Italian and Barcelona Open titles.

Djokovic found himself the runner-up at the Italian after a lackluster performance against the champion in the final.

Nadal is 247-19 on clay over his career and is chasing tennis legend Bjorn Borg for sole claim to the most career French Open titles in history.

Much has been made of Djokovic's Grand Slam match winning streak (now at 25 straight), but the No. 2 player in the world has too much on his side in this tournament.

While I would say chasing history and coming off two impressive tournament victories would have the Manacor native especially motivated, official word from Nadal is the approach remains the same.

Before the event at Roland Garros started, the 26-year-old told reporters:

"

I [am] not going to be more motivated because I have six and can win seven. And I was not more motivated when I arrived here in 2005 than today...The motivation is always the same. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. That's the sport.

"

For Djokovic fans, that all-business mentality is scary to see from Nadal. His early-round performances and his words before the tournament lead one to believe that the Spaniard is 100 percent focused on adding yet another French Open title to his ever-expanding trophy collection.

Nadal has yet to play more than three sets in any round of the current tournament before defeating his opposition.

The Serbian's rally back against Seppi should be respected and admired, but it speaks volumes that the world's No. 1 player saw his first true test of the tournament before Nadal has.