Roger Federer handed a tough draw at the Madrid Open

Rafael Nadal is looking to win his second clay tournament of the year at the Madrid Open

The countdown to French Open is in its final stages, with two of the biggest clay court events in Madrid and Rome coming up in the next two weeks. The draw at Madrid Masters 2015 was taken out and it has set up some interesting matches in the coming week.

For the defending champion Rafael Nadal, the draw has been kind. He faces no serious opposition till the quarterfinals where he may meet Grigor Dmitrov or Stan Wawrinka. Next, he is scheduled to meet Federer in the semi finals. The absence of Novak Djokovic is a great opportunity for Nadal to pick up his confidence and form with a title on home soil. Expect a great effort from the Spaniard here.

Amongst the other top guys, Federer faces a slightly trickier draw with Nick Kryogis being a potential second round opponent. Next in line may be John Isner and Tomas Berdych. If he clears all these obstacles, he will meet his nemesis Nadal in the semis. However with his recent clay victory in Istanbul, expect his confidence to be high and a run to the semis is very possible.

Amongst the other top guys, Ferrer and Nishikori have been drawn in the same quarter and may meet in the quarter finals. That would be a great match with Spanish crowd behind Ferrer and Nishikori riding on his clay court prowess.

In the fourth quarter, Andy Murray has been drawn to meet Milos Raonic in the quarterfinal. That too can be a great match of two contrasting styles of tennis on display.

Overall, it promises to be a great week of clay court tennis, and the absence of Djokovic is a great opportunity for someone else to grab the headlines and the Madrid title with it. It will set things up nicely for the bigger prize coming up shortly, the French Open crown.