French Open Favorites to Stop Nadal's Run
It might be too early too panic, but Rafael Nadal fans should at least be highly concerned with the Spaniard's chances of winning his sixth straight and 10th French Open title. To put it plainly, suddenly the King of Clay is losing regularly on a surface he once dominated almost without fail for the last 10 years.
Nadal lost his fifth clay-court match of the year on Friday when he fell to Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals at the Rome Masters. It seems like Nadal will suddenly find the switch and flip his clay-court game back on in time to dominate again at Roland Garros; but what if he doesn't?
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His loss in Rome ensures he'll likely have a more difficult draw than he's accustomed to. After the defeat in Rome, Nadal sounded at peace with the possibility that he could meet defeat at Roland Garros. Per ATP World Tour, Nadal said:
"I’m going to be ranked lower than ever playing Roland Garros, so that will mean the chance to play against very tough opponents. At the same time, if I go to Roland Garros and I lose and I don’t play well, life continues. It’s not the end of the world. I won so many times there… It’s normal that I could lose. Losing is part of life. I can be there, play bad and lose early, but I’m going to fight to change that and try to fight again to have a good tournament.
"
Here's a short list of the players who will most likely be in position to win the 2015 French Open should Nadal falter.
Novak Djokovic
The career series between Novak Djokovic and Nadal is almost even. Nadal has the edge, 23-20, and many of those wins have come in their historic meetings at Roland Garros. While Nadal has handled Djokovic without issue at the French Open, he has lost to the Serbian on clay in Monte Carlo three years in a row.
If Nadal continues to struggle, he may not even advance far enough in the tournament to meet Djokovic again this year. If Nadal bows out early, Djokovic would immediately become the favorite to win the French Open.
Like the Energizer bunny, Roger Federer just keeps going. His well-roundedness and skill level has allowed him to maintain ridiculous consistency and longevity. He'll be 34 years old in August, but he's still a serious threat to win every remaining Grand Slam event in 2015.
With Nadal showing obvious cracks, Federer is in position to win just his second French Open championship. Based on what we've seen from Nadal in the last five months, you'd have to say Federer and Djokovic are the favorites to reach the final.
The two greats have split the last four meetings on clay, but Fed won the last match on the surface at Monte Carlo in 2014. Another meeting at the French Open would be epic.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Looking outside of the usual suspects, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a legitimate threat. The 30-year-old Frenchman would be the heavy crowd favorite. He's enjoyed moderate success in his career at Roland Garros.
He reached the quarterfinals in 2012 and the semifinals in 2013. At his age, he may not have a better opportunity to capture the tournament. The current dynamic seems to be wide open this year. Because of the sense of urgency that should be in Tsonga's game, he's one to watch.
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