French Open 2013: Roger Federer's Strong Start Doesn't Change Anything

The prevailing sentiment coming into the 2013 French Open was that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were stronger contenders than Roger Federer at Roland Garros.

Despite Federer's strong start to the tournament, nothing has changed.

It's easy to get swept up in the moment when a 17-time Grand Slam singles champion utterly destroys his opponent, like Federer did to Pablo Carreno-Busta on Sunday. The Swiss great cruised to victory, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

In the process, he won 80 percent of all service points, 52 percent of return points, 78 percent of net points and all seven break points, according to RolandGarros.com. He notched 10 aces and 33 winners.

And he wrapped things up in a neat 80 minutes.

But you have to look at the big picture: This came against an inferior opponent, and both Nadal and Djokovic have played better than Federer in 2013.

Nadal—a seven-time winner at Roland Garros—has gone 36-2 with six singles titles this year. Djokovic, the world No. 1, has gone 28-4 with three singles titles. Meanwhile, Federer entered the 2013 French Open with an 18-6 record. On top of that, he had yet to claim a title on the year.

This is his first season since 2000 that the 31-year-old hasn't won a title before the French Open.

We all know that a player of Federer's caliber, even at his age, has the potential to rise above all obstacles. We saw that in 2012 when Federer won Wimbledon.

But, historically, the French Open has been the toughest test for him, primarily because of Nadal's dominance at the event. Fed has won once at the French Open, while winning at least four times in each of the other three Grand Slams.

Federer has the ability to go deep into the tournament, even in a down year. Given Nadal and Djokovic are both in the top half of the bracket, we could conceivably see Federer in the final.

However, you can't expect him to defeat Nadal or Djokovic in the final, even after appearing to be in top form to start off the tournament.

Anything he does before facing the likes of Nadal and Djokovic is just a tease.