Roland Garros 2013: Dark Horses with a Chance to Make Waves at French Open

There is no way to look at the 2013 French Open rationally and say that anyone other than Rafael Nadal is the favorite. The guy's dominance on clay speaks for itself.

Of course, the same thing could have been said in 2009 when Robin Soderling beat Nadal in the fourth round of the French Open. That was the only time in 53 matches at Roland Garros that Nadal has been forced to accept defeat.

The possibility always looms, and we can always look forward to a fun upset or five at any major.

I've scoured this field for the next Robin Soderling, or at least someone who can lend the chance of being this year's surprise star.

*Stats and ATP rankings via ATPWorldTour.com, unless otherwise linked, and the draw courtesy RolandGarros.com.

Benoit Paire

World No. 26 Benoit Paire has been on a steady rise. The 6'5", 24-year-old was ranked 95th at the end of 2011 and 47th at the end of last year.

He's just 18-15 on the year, but he's been thriving on the clay courts. He reached the semis in Rome in his last action, the quarterfinals in Morocco and the round of 16 in both Spain and Portugal. 

In Rome, Paire earned his first career win over an opponent in the top 10 when he defeated Juan Martin Del Potro (No. 7). He wound up losing to Roger Federer in that run, and three of the last four times he's been ousted, it's been against either Federer or Nadal.

Paire has never had much success at the French, or any other major. He's made it to the third round just once, and he's never advanced past it.

He has a nice two-handed backhand, and he is a skillful and creative player. He moves well for his size. While he has a light track record, this is a player who appears to be just now coming into his own. Also, Paire is from France, and he'll have a large cheering contingent in his matches. 

Paire's first chance to net an upset will be against Kei Nishikori in Round 3, and then his chance to shock the world could present itself as Rafael Nadal looms as the likely opponent in the next round.

Ernests Gulbis

 Latvian Ernests Gulbis has been flying up the rankings. At the start of the year, he couldn't be found in the top 100. Now, he's at No. 40. 

Gulbis is 19-7 on the year. That includes going 6-3 in Masters events and 8-4 on clay.

This run included the 24-year-old almost shocking the world once already. In his last event, the Italian Open, he narrowly lost to Rafael Nadal, 6-1, 5-7, 4-6.

That loss came in the round of 16. He's made it to the round of 16 in his last three tournaments. 

Some of his wins this year include beating Tommy Haas, Janko Tipsarevic, and John Isner. 

Gulbis will have a chance to make waves right away as he could face No. 5 Tomas Berdych. Gulbis and Berdych have met five times, but just once on clay. Berdych won in straight sets, and he has the edge in all matches at 3-2. 

However, Gulbis has momentum and he's had success against Berdych in the past. 

Nicolas Almagro

Nicolas Almagro is the highest ranked player on this list at No. 13.

He has been erratic this year and has a 23-11 mark. However, he went 4-1 at the Australian Open and has a decent 16-8 mark on clay this year.

While that mark is certainly not overwhelming, he's shown he can thrive on the surface. He made it to the finals in Spain before falling to Nadal, 4-6, 3-6.

Also, for his career, Almagro has won 12 tournaments, and all of them have come on clay.

A big part of Almagro's success hinges on his success with his serve. He is third in aces per match this year. While a big serve is an advantage more often associated with tournaments away from the slick red stuff, if he is on with it, he's tough to beat on any surface. 

Almagro is under Berdych in the bracket, and the two could meet him in the third round. Of course, Almagro would need Gulbis not to steal his thunder in the previous round.

In seven head-to-head matches on clay, Berdych has triumphed four times. They've split the last clay contests and have never met at Roland Garros. 

If these two should meet, toss a coin to predict the winner, and there is no reason Almagro's run has to stop there.