Rafael Nadal: 6-Time French Open Champ Predictably Scorching the Clay

There are three things you can count on in France every year: good food, good wine and Rafael Nadal winning the French Open.

Nadal, who knocked off Nicolas Almagro on Wednesday in straight sets, is on another one of his fantastic runs on the red clay. He advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday, and he has yet to lose a set in five rounds at Roland Garros.

It's getting to the point where it's a shock when Nadal loses a set in the French Open. He's just been that dominant. When you win the French Open six of the last seven years, you have officially earned your nickname of "The King of Clay."

Nadal has been playing even better this year at Roland Garros than he did when he won last year. It wasn't surprising that he beat Almagro in the quarterfinals. What was surprising was that Almagro almost won the first set.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will face each other in the semifinals. Regardless of who wins, it's hard to see either beating Nadal this year.

Federer is coming off a resilient effort in which he came back from two sets down against Juan Martin Del Potro, but that doesn't mean he didn't struggle early on. 

Djokovic, on the other hand, hasn't been the same as last year. It took him five sets to dispose of Andreas Seppi and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

You wonder how long Nadal can keep this up, given all the battles he's endured throughout the years. But, for now, it's nice to just sit back and watch a master of his craft, on his favorite playing surface.

Don't take it for granted. Appreciate it. Runs like this don't come around very often.

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