So, Who is the Favorite at the French Open for the Men?

So, a major debate going on in the tennis world right now is: Who is the real men's favorite to win Roland Garros this season?  Let's dig in.

Possible Favorites:

-Andy Murray: You might be thinking to yourself, "Huh?  Not possible."  But, I'm being dead serious when I include Murray in this section.  Andy has been spectacular this clay season.  After entering the clay court swing with no titles on the surface, he exits with two trophies and zero losses.  He first won the title at the BMW Open in Munich, Germany.  On the way he beat some pretty good clay court (and overall) players in Goffin, Bautista Agut, and Kohlscreiber (in a Monday Final!).  Then Murray quickly went to Spain and played some of the best tennis, in my opinion, that he's ever played on any surface.  He dismissed the new generation in Raonic and Nisikori, both in straight sets, and then rocked Rafael Nadal, only giving up five games in the process.  Andy Murray has earned his place on my unimportant blog!

-Novak Djokovic: This guy is just incredible.  After having won the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami on hard courts, Novak continued his success on the clay.  He then went on to Win Monte Carlo  (also destroying Nadal, only losing six games to him) and then went on to win Madrid, beating clay courters like Almagro and Ferrer and also beating all-court players like Federer and Nishikori to complete a perfect clay court season (him and Murray either played different events or Murray withdrew).  Djokovic also has the claim that he made the Final of the French Open in two of the past three seasons, with seemingly only Rafa being able to stop him.

-Rafael Nadal: I don't even think I have to say a word here.  Seriously.  This guy has won nine of the past ten French Opens (2005-2014 sans 2009) and has utterly dominated other clay tournaments in past years with zero mercy.  Rafa is a clay legend.  But, while he did pick up a clay 250 in Buenos Aires, Rafa has not done as well this clay court season.  He made the Round of 16 in Barcelona, quarters in Rome, semis in Rio and Monte Carlo, and the Final in Madrid.  For a lot of people, that is a great clay season, but not for Rafa.  It also was the way he meekly went out in a lot of those matches (such as Murray in Madrid and Wawrinka in Rome) that has a lot of tennis fans worried.

So, who do I think the favorite is?  Let me first rule out Andy.  Although he has played really well this season, I can't get over how he had zero clay titles before 2015.  While Andy has GREATLY improved on the surface, it's too big of a stretch to say that he goes from not having even won a 250 on clay to the favorite for the French Open.  He might make a run, but until Novak and Rafa are out, he won't be the favorite.  That leads us Djokovic and Nadal.  A lot of tennis "pundits" think that Novak is the favorite, and while I can't fault them for their choice (he has played AMAZING this season), I'm sticking with Rafa.

First off, I can't get over how Rafa is a nine-time champion at a MAJOR and has won 90% of the major champions in Paris over the last ten years!  Just think about that.  90%!  So, that brings with it a lot of psychological advantages, which I think the media is too quick to say is escaping from Nadal.  On top of that, Djokovic has won 0 majors on the surface, which says a lot about how he performs in Paris, NOT how performs on clay.  In addition, Nadal is 6-0 against Djokovic in best-of-five on clay (Davis Cup and FO, excluding a Djoker retirement).  The main court at Roland Garros, Philippe Chatrier, also suits Nadal perfectly, giving him A LOT of room to move around, which is super important for Rafa's game.  Rafa also has the uncanny ability to grind an opponent down in best-of-five which one cannot see in a best-of-three clay court event.  Finally, when I was looking at Djokovic's past results at RG, I noticed that every one of his losing matches from 2010-2014 were in four or five sets.  What does that tell me?  It shows me that Djokovic can play extremely well on the surface, but despite having extraordinary conditioning, on clay he just wears down.  It's not that he's being outclassed, he's just wearing down.  And that is a disturbing trend.

So, there you have it!  Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with what I've had to say!