Rafael Nadal: 6-Time Champ Will Complete Best French Open of His Career

With all the success Rafael Nadal has had at Roland Garros, it should be impossible to top himself, but that is exactly what he is on pace to do.

Nadal has lost just 19 games in his first four matches, the fewest total since Guillermo Vilas dropped 16 in 1982. John McEnroe equaled the mark in 1984, via Fox Sports.

He will certainly carry momentum into the quarterfinals. In his fourth-round match against Juan Monaco, he dropped two of the three opening games, then went on a tear and won 17 straight to close out the Argentinian.

He dispatched the No. 13 seed in just one hour and 46 minutes.

Nadal has always been dominant in Paris, but he’s never unleashed a run quite like this.

While Nadal has looked untouchable through the first four rounds, the other highly-seeded men’s singles players have not.

Both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer struggled in the quarterfinal round.

Djokovic dropped the second and third sets to fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and was nearly eliminated in the fourth, but eventually prevailed. 

Federer’s opponent, ninth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro, jumped on the Swiss and took the first two sets. Federer ultimately showed the resolve and focus that has defined his career and completed a dramatic comeback victory.

But Nadal would not see either of these players until the finals, and his more immediate worries will be fourth-seeded Andy Murray and sixth-seeded David Ferrer.

Murray has never been fond of clay and his struggles have been exacerbated by chronic back problems. He has looked to be in serious pain at times during the tournament.

Ferrer has been in fine form, but he has never advanced past the semifinals of a Grand Slam and has only made it that far twice in his career. He will face Murray in the quarterfinals.

Nadal’s quarterfinal opponent with be 12th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. Almagro simply does not have what it takes to compete with the world’s No. 2 player. 

If anyone is going to stop Nadal’s run, it will have to be one of the other players seeded in the top four. As of now, it does not look like anyone is up to the challenge.

Not only do these players look ill-equipped to defeat Nadal, but they may not even be able to keep the match close.

Nadal has been in incredible form through the tournament’s early stages and he will keep it going to record his best performance ever at Roland Garros.