Rafael Nadal Still the Man to Beat Heading into French Open Quarterfinals

As long as Rafael Nadal is still a part of the field at the French Open, he'll be a prohibitive favorite to add an eighth French Open title to his mantle.

Despite the presence of the world's No. 1 player in Novak Djokovic, dominant play from a fellow clay-court specialist in David Ferrer and an incredible upset performance from Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nadal is still widely considered the man to beat. 

According to Bovada, Nadal still leads the pack at Roland Garros with 10-11 odds to win the Slam. After nearly a decade of domination at the clay-court tournament, that's the respect he's due. 

Here's a closer look at why Nadal is still the odds-on favorite to win another championship.

Prior Domination Against Stanislas Wawrinka

Nadal's next step in winning the French Open will come in the form of his quarterfinal matchup against Stanislas Wawrinka. Considering the path both men have taken to get to this point, all signs point to Nadal advancing to the semis once again. 

First, there's Nadal's head-to-head record against Wawrinka. Rafa is a perfect 9-0 against Wawrinka from 2007 to their 2013 meeting in Madrid. Wawrinka has yet to even win a set, regardless of surface. 

Fatigue could be a factor for Wawrinka, too. He's coming off a five-set epic against Richard Gasquet and took four sets to defeat Jerzy Janowicz before that. At some point, these grueling matches have to take their toll. 

Wawrinka will be a huge underdog attempting to beat Nadal on his best surface when he hasn't even won a set against him. 

He Has Yet to Be Challenged

The same spring may not be in Rafa's step, but it has yet to show up in the results. Nadal is rolling through the field as usual. 

As Beyond The Baseline noted after his win over Fabio Fognini, this isn't exactly the Nadal we're used to, but he's still winning in straight sets. As predicted, he's gotten stronger as the tournament has progressed, and his latest win over Kei Nishikori was his best performance yet.

Nadal's 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 win over Nishikori marked nine consecutive sets won, and it is another reminder that, even without his absolute best stuff, Nadal is nearly unbeatable on clay. 

Getting past the remaining opponents in the field may not be as easy as dispatching the opposition he's faced thus far, but he's handled himself well. 

Novak Djokovic Is the Only Challenger

While a huge upset is always possible, Nadal holds a distinct advantage over everyone left in the field with the possible exception of Novak Djokovic. 

Of the three possible opponents for Nadal in the semis and finals (Tommy Haas, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer), none has found success against Nadal. Rafa is 32-7 against the trio in his career. Only one of those seven losses came on a clay court, and that was all the way back in 2004 against Tsonga. 

Players like Tsonga and Ferrer have been convincing in their runs this far into the tournament, but neither has the credentials to beat Nadal in the final. That leaves Djokovic as the only player who can really challenge Rafa's title reign. 

Nadal holds a slim 19-15 career mark over Djokovic, with Nadal going 4-0 against Djoker at Roland Garros. However, with a clay-court victory against Rafa already this season, things could get interesting. 

We're in for an epic semifinal matchup pitting Djokovic against Nadal, but Rafa is the king of the French Open until he's actually dethroned.