(DtL! contributor Jimmy takes a look at the year's second major and offers insight into the big stories to watch out for on the men's side. I'll be taking a peak at the ladies so check back tomorrow for that preview. Take it away Jimmy!)
Another intense clay court season comes to a close with the grand daddy of 'em all: the
French Open! The obvious question here is whether or not
Rafael Nadal will be able to continue his dominant streak and win a fourth consecutive title. As always,
Roger Federer is breathing down his neck (although he’s dealing with a few issues of his own) and
Novak Djokovic has emerged as a top contender for the title as well. Let's take a look...
It’s been a given that
Rafa owns the terra bateau but not much else, thanks to
Federer’s dominance on every other surface. But the Spaniard has prevented
R-Fed from a complete domination of the men’s game, stopping the world no. 1 from achieving a calendar grand slam in 2006 and 2007. For years people assumed the Swiss would just naturally fall from grace and cede the #1 position to
Rafa, who is several years his junior. Judging by
Fed’s game recently, it appears 2008 could be the year it happens.
But not so fast! That young whippersnapper
Novak Djokovic has become a serious threat to the established order. The Serb came within one set of taking the #2 spot away from
Nadal in the
Hamburg semifinal this year. And he’s already come up with big wins in
Melbourne,
Indian Wells, and
Rome so far in 2008. Suddenly, instead of patiently waiting for
Federer to stumble from his perch,
Rafa is in a tight three-way race for #1, and youth is no longer on his side, with
Nole a full year younger than him.
It’s been a tough few months for
Nadal. The Mallorcan matador had to defend a ridiculous amount of points during the clay court season, and now more than ever the pressure is on to be the best. However, despite
Nole's ascension I still think
Rafa has a lot of life in him, and he may not even have peaked yet. He always turns it up when the going gets tough, and I still pick him to win the title this year, but his road to the top may be bumpier than ever.
Speaking of bumpy roads, no one has had it tougher than
Federer. He's only picked up a single title this year: the
Estoril Open in Portugal. The last several years
Fed has felt the pressure of winning the
French Open and completing a career Grand Slam. But ironically,
losing the
Aussie Open means the pressure of the Slam could be off this year. Plus, he's been picking up his game considerably since the win in
Portugal. Could this be
Fed’s year at
Roland Garros?
Of course, the
ATP doesn’t revolve around the top three players, as much as it may seem. There are more than a few stories to keep an eye on during the next two weeks in
Paris:
Can the always-reliable
Nikolay Davydenko maintain his game this year and finally contend for the title? (He reached the semifinals in 2005 and 2007).
Can any of the up-and-coming players make an impression? I think
Stanislas Wawrinka has a decent shot. He made it to the semis in
Barcelona and the final of
Rome.
And what about the sad case of Frenchie
Richard Gasquet? He’s having a terrible year and has been threatening to
skip the tournament, to the disappointment (or is that delight?) of the French fans.
Who do you think are the
top picks + darkhorses on the boys side?
*VIA
DOWNTHELINETENNIS.COM
(image via Getty)
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