Rafael Nadal Looking for Fifth Consecutive French Open Title

The French Open will take place from May 24 through June 7, 2009, in Paris, France. The French Open is the second tennis grand slam of the year. It is the only grand slam event that is played on clay courts.

And like every year at this time, all talk is about tennis sensation Rafael Nadal. At 22 years old, Nadal is already a 4-time French Open winner, all coming consecutively, tying Bjorn Borg for that record, and has a career record of 28-0 at this Open. Out of Nadal's 36 career finals wins, 25 have come on clay. With Nadal's accomplishments on the clay, most, if not all, tennis critics already regard Nadal as the greatest clay-court player of all time. Nadal's other major accomplishments include the world #1 ranking since August 18, 2008, a 2008 Olympic Gold Medal, and six grand slam championships in total.

Nadal is looking to be in great form just weeks before the Grand Slam begins. "Rafa" has won the last three minor tournaments on clay in the last three weeks. Nadal won the tournament in Monte Carlo, Monaco on April 19, beating Novak Djokovic in the finals in three sets. A week later, he won the tournament in Barcelona, Spain, beating David Ferrer in straight sets. Nadal capped it off with a tournament win in Rome, Italy, beating Novak Djokovic again, this time in straight sets.

For Nadal to win his fifth French Open, he will have to get by stiff competition. Nadal has faced his arch-rival Roger Federer in the last three French Open finals and it has seemed easier for Nadal to beat Federer as the years go by. It took Nadal four sets to beat Federer in 2006 and 2007 but Nadal beat him 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in 2008. In total, the Federer vs. Nadal rivalry has culminated in 7 Grand Slam finals, with Nadal leading 5 to 2. Besides Federer, other players who have a legit chance of going far in this tournament are Novak Djokovic, rising star Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, and James Blake. And like every year, there is at least one low-ranked player who comes out of nowhere by pulling off a few upsets.

Odds for the 2009 French Open have been released, and Nadal is a -300 favorite to win it all, which is not a big surprise as he has never lost at Roland Garros. For those interested in Roger Federer, he is a +450 underdog at the moment. If Federer is to win the French Open, he would complete the impressive career slam. Federer has held every grand slam title except for the French Open.

Get ready for some great tennis matches as ESPN2 and Tennis Channel will broadcast live starting on Day 1 up to the finals!