6 players who can challenge Rafael Nadal's supremacy on clay

Despite his lacklustre show this year, Rafael Nadal remains the player to beat on clay. While his performance at the Monte Carlo was far from immaculate, the gritty Spaniard has shown far too often that he is more than capable of shrugging off poor starts to the season and triumph at Roland Garros.In his ten appearances on the Parisian dust, Nadal has come undone only once: In 2009, when the Swede Robin Soderling got the better of him. Although many players have come mighty close to upstaging Nadal at his bastion, none have succeeded. However, if history has taught us one thing, it is that no one is invincible.Bearing that in mind, let us now take a look at five players who have the potential to upset Nadal’s apple cart at the French Open.

#6 Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka’s only win against Nadal came in the final of the 2014 Australian Open.

Stanislas Wawrinka is the dark horse on the list. Although a clay-court specialist, Wawrinka has failed to progress beyond the quarter-final stage of the French Open. The 2014 Australian Open champion’s 2015 season has been a mixed bag.

After beginning the year on a thumping note with a win at the Chennai Open, Wawrinka failed in his bid to defend the Australian Open title, falling to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Wawrinka then went on to win the ABN AMRO World Tennis tournament before being ousted in the second and third rounds at Indian Wells and Miami respectively.

His biggest loss, though, came at Monte Carlo, where, as he strived to defend the title, he fell to Grigor Dimitrov in the third round in straight sets.

But, Wawrinka, whose modest statistics do not do justice to his extraordinary talent, has shown glimpses of his ability on clay. His epic comeback against Richard Gasquet at the 2013 French Open, when he was down two sets, is an illustration of his prowess on the surface.

Of the 13 times that he and Nadal have faced one another, Wawrinka has got the better just the one time: The final of the Australian Open 2014.

On clay, the duo has clashed on five occasions and it has always been the Spaniard who has taken the cake. In fact, Wawrinka is yet to take his first set against Nadal on clay.

#5 Tomas Berdych

Tomas Berdych handed Nadal one of the latters worst losses in a Grand Slamat the Australian Open early this year.

Going by current form, Tomas Berdych is definitely one of the few players who can give Rafael Nadal sleepless nights. After reaching the final of the Qatar Open, where he lost to David Ferrer, Berdych went on to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

En route to the semis at Melbourne, Berdych handed Nadal a straight-set defeat in the quarter-final. It was one of Nadals most humiliating losses in a Grand Slam as he was handed a bagel in the second set.

Continuing his raging form, Berdych made it to the semi-final of the Miami Open, coming undone against Andy Murray for the second time this season. At Monte Carlo, he made it to the final, where he gave World Number One Novak Djokovic a run for his money, pushing the match to three sets. Berdych is an excellent mover around the court and also has a formidable serve that he uses effectively to get himself out of tight spots.

His best result at the French Open was a semi-final appearance in 2010. He will be hoping to improve on that record and finally get his hands around a Grand Slam crown at the French Open.

#4 Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic beat Nadal in a tensely fought match at Indian Wells this year.

The 24-year-old Canadians career trajectory has been on an upward curve for the last two years and he will be eager to end his wait for a Grand Slam title at the French Open. With a booming serve and an array of powerful ground strokes at his disposal, Milos Raonic has the necessary ammunition to triumph on the biggest stage.

Last year, Raonic made it to the quarter-final of the French Open, where he came undone against Novak Djokovic in straight sets. His record on clay isnt exactly modest. Apart from his quarter-final run at last years French Open, Raonic has held his own on the surface at events like Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, two events where he has reached the semi-final.

In the six times that he has faced off against Nadal, Raonic has managed to emerge victor once. His solitary victory against Nadal came at the Indian Wells Masters earlier this year, when Raonic prevailed to win a tensely fought match that stretched to three sets.

Although Nadal had little difficulty in getting past Raonic in their only match on clay at the Barcelona Open last year, the circumstances are much different this time around. Raonic, bolstered by his performances at Wimbledon and French Open last year, is riding high on confidence while Nadal, on the other hand, is having a nightmarish season.

#3 John Isner

John Isner pushed Nadal to five sets in the first round match of the 2011 French Open.

The big serving American can, on his day, be the most devastating player. Immortalised for his part in the longest tennis match ever played, Isner is one player that Rafael Nadal will definitely be chary of heading into Roland Garros.

In the first round of 2011 French Open, Isner gave Nadal quite a scare when he pushed the Spaniard to five sets and came extremely close to creating, what would have been the upset of the century. Although Nadal survived Isner in that memorable encounter, the American has always been a tough nut to crack for Nadal.

In their very first meeting at the Indian Wells Masters in 2010, Isner showed what he was capable of by pushing Nadal to three sets. More recently, Isner came very close to earning his first win against Nadal at the Monte Carlo Masters, in a match that went down to the wire.

Nadal has always had trouble against big servers and Isner, who has one of the fastest serves in the business at the moment, will fancy his chances of ending the Spaniard’s domination at the French Open this year.

#2 Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori came mighty close to beating Nadal in the final of the Madrid Masters last year.

Rafael Nadal has emerged triumphant on all of the seven occasions that he has faced Kei Nishikori across the net. However, to write off Nishikori’s chances of beating Nadal based on that statistic alone would be nothing short of folly.

Nishikori, currently ranked five in the world, has shown that he is more than capable of holding his own against the best in the business; his victory against Novak Djokovic in the US Open semi-final last year being a case in point.

Nadal and Nishikori have clashed on clay twice. The first time was in the fourth round of the Roland Garros in 2013, when Nadal hardly blinked as he stormed to a straight sets win against the then 15th ranked Nishikori. The next time they clashed on clay, many expected the same script to unfold. However, Nishikori had other plans in mind.

In the finals of the Madrid Masters last year, Nishikori surprised all and sundry by taking the first set against Nadal. For a change, it was Nadal who was being made to fight. The Spaniard rallied to take the second set before injuries forced Nishikori to grant the Spaniard a walkover in the third set.

His victory at the Barcelona Open last year should lend us a glimpse into his abilities on clay. Moreover, Nishikori is an extremely good mover on the court and although not an instinctively attacking player, he is more than capable of upping the ante if the situation warrants it. His ability to sustain himself in long rallies coupled with his agility make him a tricky customer for Nadal.

#1 Novak Djokovic

The 2013 French Open semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadalwas dubbed the best clay court match ever by Bjorn Borg.

The World Number One has come undone at the hands of ‘King of Clay’ on two occasions in the final of the French Open. Despite enjoying success against Rafael Nadal in many clay court tournaments such as Monte Carlo Masters, Novak Djokovic has failed to surmount the Nadal barrier in Paris.

Nadal has lost to Djokovic five times on the surface that he prefers the most. The statistic reflects not only Djokovic’s prowess on cla,y but also indicates how close the Serb has come to unseating Nadal on the latter’s favourite surface.

The 2013 French Open semi-final, which stretched out to five sets, remains one of the most cherished encounters between the duo. Bjorn Borg dubbed the match the best on clay while Nadal termed it his best win ever.

Djokovic holds the distinction of having halted the Nadal juggernaut at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he snapped the Spaniard’s 46-match winning streak. His other successes against Nadal on clay have come at Madrid and Rome.

However, Djokovic’s form has been nothing short of imperious this season and when added to Nadal’s poor start to 2015, the Serb has the best chance to win the Roland Garros trophy this season.