The king of Paris is back

Dubai: The buzz around Roland Garros this time is more about Rafael Nadal rather than anything else - the man they call the king of clay with good reasons.

With seven French Open titles behind him and looking unstoppable since his return after a seven-month gap, the Spanish ace is the bookmakers’ favourite in a field weakened by the absence of Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro.

Just ponder over Nadal’s record to wonder what has already given him a legendary status in this Grand Slam: he has won all but one match in the last nine years at the French Open. The loss came against Robin Soderling in a round-of-16 clash back in 2009. Set to turn 27 on June 3, the Mallorca man will look to turn a new leaf after recovering from a serious knee problem.

However, making his job difficult will be world No.1 Novak Djokovic and the Swiss master Roger Federer, who is back from a huge seven-week sabbatical between March and May, something he has not done for well over a decade.

Djokovic, who has assumed the world number one crown, will be keen to mark his 26th birthday by staying at the top of men’s tennis.

The Serb has not had a perfect run-up to the tournament since beating Nadal at the Monte Carlo Masters in April, Djokovic has done precious little. He was beaten by Grigor Dimitrov and then Tomas Berdych in back-to-back tournaments and will be aiming to raise his game on time.

While Nadal holds a career head-to-head advantage over Djokovic, the latter has won eight of their past 11 encounters. Moreover, since 2011, Djokovic has taken three finals off Nadal on clay and now has a split 3-3 head-to-head claycourt record.

Perhaps, Djokovic’s pre-birthday celebrations in Monaco on Tuesday were a sign of things to follow. Playing in a football match in aid of a children’s charity that was organised in conjunction with this weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix, Djokovic was up against Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Murray, meanwhile, has been struggling with a sore back for the past few weeks now. He looked far from ready for the second Grand Slam of the season as he has barely played this year, though it will be a huge loss for any tournament not to have a player like him especially after his recent exploits where he has reached the three previous Grand Slam finals - and winning the US Open last year.

Discretion is a better part of valour and the Olympic gold medallist is looking at his home Grand Slam on grass, followed by the hard court season for a comeback.

The case of Del Potro is unfortunate, if not scary. Since defeating Djokovic and Murray to make the Indian Wells final, the lanky Argentinian has again withered away. There are rumours that he has flown home to consult various specialists about the respiratory problems that have afflicted the world No.7 in recent weeks.

The loss of these top two players has resulted in minor alterations in the draw. The main beneficiaries will be Federer, who is now the No.2 seed, and Spaniard David Ferrer, who moves up to No.4 from No.5 thus avoiding Djokovic, Federer and Nadal at least until the semi-finals.

There’s good news for home fans as Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon will have a comparatively easier march into the second week of action on the red clay.

Gasquet is now the No.7 seed and has a simpler run to the quarter-finals against lesser-ranked players, while Simon moves up to No.15 giving himself a chance of at least making the Round 16.