Five reasons why Rafa Nadal can be beaten

Faltering form

NADAL’S three-set defeat to rival Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final was his third loss on European clay this season. The last time the world No 1 suffered a similar slump was in 2004. He will also go to Paris with just one European clay court title for the first time in 10 years. Even that came by default when Kei Nishikori was forced to retire injured from their final in Madrid.

Injury fears

NADAL’S career has often seemed at the mercy of the fickle state of his knees, which condemned him to seven months on the sidelines until February last year. And his back flared up in the final of his Australian Open loss to Stanislas Wawrinka this year.

Be bold

DJOKOVIC launched 46 winners past Nadal in the Rome final, with the Serb hitting harder and flatter, keeping the points as short as possible. As a result, Nadal was never allowed to dictate the pace of the match. According to the ATP’s official stats, 45 percent (74/165) of total points didn’t reach five shots. Djokovic was also keen to vary his approach winning 66 percent (18/27) of all points when he came to the net.

Mind over matter

PLAYERS who succeed against Nadal are those who play the man and not the facts and figures. Robin Soderling, the only man to beat Nadal at the French Open, came out swinging in 2009, hitting freely and with astonishing depth, power and direction. Lukas Rosol shrugged off his lowly ranking of 100 to employ a similar strategy to shock Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012.

Luck of the draw

NADAL and Djokovic will be seeded one and two, but danger lurks for the Spaniard. Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, whose ranking has slipped to eight, could be a quarter-final opponent while the likes of Nishikori, who took his Barcelona clay court title, and Rome semi-finalists Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov could be fourth round foes as the sport’s next generation looks to muscle in. – Sapa-AFP TWO FELLOW Spaniards who have already beaten him on his favourite clay surface could lie in wait for favourite and defending champion Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

Yesterday’s draw, conducted by Nadal at Roland Garros, also handed women’s champion Serena Williams a tricky route.

Eight-times champion Nadal plays American Robbie Ginepri in round one but Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer are seeded to face him in the fourth round and the quarter- final respectively.

Almagro surprisingly beat Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open while Ferrer, who the Mallorcan beat in last year’s French Open final, knocked him out at the same stage at the Monte Carlo Masters.

“Last week in Rome was tough physically but sometimes you need these things. I played a bit better during the tournament,” Nadal told a news conference.

Defeat by Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final meant Nadal has lost three matches on the European claycourt swing for the first time in a decade, raising doubts over his form.

Djokovic, chasing the only Grand Slam title missing from his collection, takes on Portuguese Joao Sousa in the first round en route to a possible semi-final showdown against former world number one Roger Federer.

Fourth seed Federer plays Slovakian Lukas Lacko in the first round while his fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, the third seed, faces a tough first round against plays Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Wawrinka is seeded to meet Nadal in the semi-finals.

Federer, who won the title in 2009, believes there will be little room for surprises at this year’s tournament.

“At Roland Garros it is a war of attrition. You have to play more shots and you can’t rely too much on a good serve to get yourself out of a tricky situation,” the 32- year- old told a news conference.

Briton Andy Murray, the seventh seed, is on collision course with Wawrinka after a last-eight spot in Rome boosted his confidence following a rough start to the year.

Murray is up against Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev.

Women’s holder and world number one Williams was drawn against France’s Alize Lim in the first round before a likely quarter-final clash with Russian Maria Sharapova, whom she beat in last year’s final.

Potential semi- final opponents include third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who took Serena to three sets in the 2012 Wimbledon final or big-hitting German Angelique Kerber.

Seventh seed Sharapova has been improving greatly on clay over the years and won the Stuttgart and Madrid titles this year back to back. She faces a qualifier in round one.

Second seed Li Na of China, winner in 2011, also faces French opposition in round one in the shape of Kristina Mladenovic.

Li, the champion in Paris three years ago, is facing a quarter-final matchup against Serb veteran Jelena Jankovic, with Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and rising Romanian Simona Halep of Romania is Li’s potential semi-final opponent.

The top half of the women’s draw looks tougher than the bottom with Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki, Australian Samantha Stosur and third seed Agnieszka Radwanska lurking. – Reuters, SapaAFP

TOUGH ACT: Rafa Nadal serves on his way to victory at Roland Garros last year. The Spaniard will have to fight harder than ever if he is to extend his remarkable run at the French Open.