Novak Djokovic: 2012 French Open Will Determine How Much Better He Is Than Nadal

There's no doubt about it. Novak Djokovic is on top of the world.

The only man who comes close to matching him right now is Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Together, the two of them have dominated men's tennis for over a year, leaving Swiss Maestro Roger Federer behind.

This year, since Djokovic won three out of four slams, beat Nadal six times out of six and has lost only three matches (and counting) in the entire year, he is undoubtedly the current king of men's tennis.

The most prestigious grand slam is Wimbledon and the second is probably the US Open, but in 2012 the one that will tell us how much better Novak Djokovic is than Rafael Nadal will be the French Open. Of course, all of the other slams will mean a great deal, but the one that will actually teach us a lot about those two players is Roland Garros.

Here is why.

Nadal always dominates at the French Open, there's no doubt about that. He won four consecutive titles between 2005 and 2008 and only lost in 2009 to Robin Soderling due to tendinitis in his knees, which remains his only loss at Roland Garros.

He continued to win the next two French Opens, beating Soderling in the 2010 final and Roger Federer in 2011.

His magic doesn't only work at Roland Garros, but on all clay surfaces. He was the unchallenged King of Clay for years, as he once won 81 matches in a row on the dirt. 

The Spaniard was the clay god until last year, when Djokovic beat him twice in a row on clay.

After the first hardcourt season when Djokovic beat Nadal twice (Miami and Indian Wells), everyone thought that things would change when it came to the clay season. Djokovic was red-hot and he made everyone believe that the tides were changing—even on clay.

When Djokovic absolutely destroyed Nadal at Rome, everyone expected Nadal to lose at the French Open, but Roger Federer beat the Serb in the semis, handing him his first loss of 2011.

That's why Nadal won the French Open this year.

Next year, however, if Djokovic's success continues even to the French Open, we will really know that he is far better than Nadal. It will be like beating Nadal at his own game. Also, the French Open is the only slam that Djokovic hasn't collected, so he could even complete the extremely prestigious "Career Grand Slam."

Of course, the other slams matter too, for Djokovic will definitely be looking for more majors to add to his tally of four, but his goal will surely be to beat the Spanish Bull in his own lair, Roland Garros.