Rafael Nadal has long dominated the French Open, but he will need to survive a gamut of eager challengers if he wants to win at Roland Garros again.
Nadal's clay court dominance is unquestioned. He has won the French Open in six of the past seven years, and remains the odds-on favorite to win it once again. However, these players have the chops and/or momentum to give Nadal a run for his money.
Perhaps the most obvious choice to give Nadal some trouble is his long-time rival Roger Federer. Nadal owns an 18-10 record against Federer on all surfaces and an even more impressive 12-2 record on clay, so even Federer struggles to find wins against Nadal.
That being said, a 12-2 record against Nadal on clay is better than most. He was also the last player not named Nadal to win the French Open, taking the title home in 2009.
Federer and Nadal have had some great matchups in the past. If their paths cross at Roland Garros, it could be Nadal's toughest test of the tournament.
In a slightly more modern and competitive rivalry, Novak Djokovic has been Nadal's kryptonite of late. The two have squared off in singles matches 32 times. Nadal owns an 18-14 record against Djokovic.
However, Nadal has been the dominant one on the clay, taking 11 of the 13 matches that the two have contested on the surface.
Nadal has the advantage of clay, but Djokovic comes in with an incredible amount of momentum after besting the Spaniard in three straight majors. He beat him at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. It will be interesting to see if Djokovic can keep his streak alive or if Nadal's clay court dominance will prevail.
Nicolas Almagro
It's not likely that Nadal gets upset on his way to the French Open final, but if he finds himself paired up against Nicolas Almagro, he may have to sweat it out.
Almagro is one of the world's best players on clay and could give his countryman a run for his money. Almagro has been to 16 finals in his professional tennis career and all 16 of them have been on clay. His aggressive style should be enough to challenge Nadal and at the very least make him work for his win.
Almagro has yet to make a deep run at Roland Garros, but at 26 years old, the time is now for him to make his presence known. A win over Nadal would do just that.
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