Fench Open 2012: Rafael Nadal's Dominance on Clay Will Propel Him to 7th Title

At this point, the more relevant question is whether Rafael Nadal will lose a set at the French, not will he win it. Nadal has been that good. 

Dominance on the clay court is nothing new for Nadal. His 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 victory over 13th-seeded Juan Monaco on Monday improved his all-time record at the French to 49-1. That said, he has never been better at the Grand Slam than he has been this year. 

He has yet to lose a set in his four 2012 French Open matches and has lost just 19 total games. That is the fewest games lost through four rounds at the French since 1982. 

Nadal has been able to cruise to this dominance by controlling his matches. He is attacking the court and striking the ball with confidence. He is right in his comfort zone and has not tried to force the issue. 

He has just 64 unforced errors in the first four rounds. 

No one is going to be able to beat him on this surface. Roger Federer is cruising along on his side of the bracket, but it's been well established that Roger can't match up with Rafa on clay. 

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is still around to try to dethrone Rafa, but clay is not his best surface and he has not been as dominant this year as he was last. It took him more than four hours to win his last match in five sets. 

Nadal is healthy, confident and at the peak of his abilities. He might be the best clay court player in the history of the sport. He has been accurate with his serve and every other shot in this tournament. 

Everyone else is playing for second.