What Rafael Nadal's Loss to Roger Federer Means for French Open 2017

Rafael Nadal lost to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final on Sunday morning in a five-set instant classic.

Unfortunately for the Spaniard, this latest result has become something a trend.

There have been 11 Grand Slam tournaments since Nadal last won one, the French Open in 2014. Injuries have certainly played a part in that drought, but it's becoming harder and harder to ignore that Nadal may never be the game's top player again, even if his run at the Australian Open was fantastic.

At 30, Nadal is not finished, but with another loss at a Grand Slam, it's difficult to rate Nadal alongside Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Even Stan Wawrinka, with three Grand Slam titles in the past 12 tournaments, may have surpassed him.

Roland Garros was once Nadal's fortress. He won the French Open nine times between 2005 and 2014. But even his favored clay has betrayed him the past two years, with Wawrinka winning the tournament in 2015 and Djokovic taking the title last year.

We have gone from Nadal being the universal favorite at Roland Garros to questioning just how far he might advance. While his dominance inevitably had an expiration date, most people would have expected it to be further down the line. Given the way Nadal dominated tennis from 2010 until 2013, when he won seven Grand Slams—two more than Djokovic and five more than Murray in that time frame—his drought in big tournaments has been a surprise.

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His run at the Australian Open may dispel the notion that Nadal's best days are behind him, however. But given the fact he advanced past Djokovic and Murray, it will be a disappointment for the Spaniard that he was unable to seize the opportunity to win another title in Australia.

While Nadal will be a threat at the French Open and might even win the tournament, a win in Australia would have been the sort of start to 2017 that would suggest another run of dominance was in the cards.

It wasn't a negative start to the season, either. Perhaps a French Open conquest will inspire one more winning streak. Still, given his Grand Slam drought, it's hard to make Nadal a favorite at Roland Garros over players like Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka.