Five reasons why Nadal should be seeded higher at the 2013 French Open

Rafael Nadal poses with the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy after his victory in the French Open at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic on June 11, 2012 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)

April and May usually remain quite a quiet period on the tennis calendar with only Rafael Nadal making the noise as he grunts his way to glory and silences every challenger. But not this year! As the clay season saunters, much of the noise is being made by a raging debate off-court regarding the king of clay’s seeding at the prima donna of all clay events – Roland Garros.

The clay court supremo himself is mostly responsible for the debate though, having fallen down the rankings to No. 5. For many Nadal loyalists, unfortunately, Rafa’s longest time off the courts coincided with his pal David Ferrer’s most memorable season in 2012, and hence Rafa was compelled to abdicate his position inside the world’s top four.

Matters are further complicated with the arrival of the red dirt, as Rafa, being the juggernaut that he has been on clay over the years, has virtually rolled over every opponent in every clay tournament in 2012 except the Madrid Masters. Rafa doesn’t stand to gain anything until we arrive at the (blue-turned-red clay) Madrid Masters, where he slipped and stumbled at the pre-quarter-finals last year.

The gulf in points in the latest ATP rankings is glaring. David Ferrer sits at No. 4 (6970) with a commanding 985 point lead over Rafa Nadal (5985). Clearly, dethroning of the Spaniard at Monte Carlo by Novak Djokovic didn’t help matters. However, Ferrer also made the most shocking exit at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday, falling to qualifier Dmitry Tursunov in three sets in the Round of 32.

Does it present a better scenario for Nadal to overtake his friend? Currently, it doesn’t affect much apart from just narrowing down the wide gap. Ferrer, being the defending Barcelona Open runner-up, will lose 300 points from last year and gain just 20, which will bring his total to 6690 when the next rankings are announced. If Rafa defends his title at Torneo Godó successfully, the gap will still be of 705 points.

To bring things straight to the point, Ferrer has to perform abysmally in the next two Masters events to help Rafa. Ferrer, a 2012 Madrid quarter-finalist and a Rome semi-finalist, will stand at 6240 even if he doesn’t manage to record a single win. It’s only if Rafa manages to enter the last-four stage in Madrid, will his points tally stand at 6255 with a slender 15 point lead over his compatriot.

Even though theoretically it is absolutely possible, practically it looks very remote. That Ferrer will enter the French Open win-less in the European clay season is realistically unthinkable. Also take into consideration – Rafa and his wobbly knees. Even though Rafa doesn’t like to miss out on any of the events in his favourite part of the season, he and his team have been cautious and pragmatic this time. Just before the start of the Monte Carlo Masters, Rafa had been quoted as saying that he isn’t at the moment, thinking beyond his fiefdom at the principality and the Catalan capital.

Nadal (L) and David Ferrer pictured here before the start of their Mexico ATP Open final in Acapulco, on March 2, 2013. Nadal defeated Ferrer 6-0 6-2. (Getty Images)

Naturally, the whispers that had been doing the rounds have now gathered momentum, which is to seed Nadal higher at the French capital. Recently, even Guy Forget and John McEnroe threw weight to the issue which might have a serious impact.

Roland Garros committee member, Guy Forget said, “The rules state the Grand Slam events have the right to change the seeding regarding the situation of the players. Wimbledon has done that in the past.” With the first hint of a change in the wind, he even added: “I would not find it illogical to change the seeds.”

Seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe too echoed Forget’s thoughts. In a recent interview, the former Roland Garros runner-up specifically pointed out: “Let me put it to you this way, I guarantee you that none of those four guys, as great as they are, want to see him in the quarters. Quite honestly, I would seed him number one. I’d seed him number one actually, because I think he deserves that. I think the other players deserve it.”

McEnroe’s statement is logical and comprehensible. And much like him, I also believe Nadal should be seeded higher than his current ranking of five, and if not the top seed, should be at least made the second seed.

Here are five reasons why I would like to see that happen:

1. For the top four guys: Rafa’s feat at the hallowed Roland Garros is tour de force. He is virtually immovable when he arrives on the Parisian clay. Unmistakably, the seven-time French Open champion is the most feared opponent for any of the major contenders. To put it simply, just like McEnroe mentioned, who would want to face a man with an astonishing 52-1 record in the last eight years, and that too as early as the quarter-finals? His head-to-head over Roger Federer and Andy Murray on clay are enough to corroborate it.

2. For Novak Djokovic: Let’s face it! No matter how many times Novak Djokovic topples Nadal at Monte Carlo, Rome or Madrid; he is yet to achieve that over five sets at Roland Garros. Wouldn’t putting Rafa in his quarter-final (if that so happens) potentially mean robbing him of his chance of a so-desired Career Slam? And that would be an act of injustice shown on Nole. The guy has shown remarkable improvement to reach where he is today. Perhaps first time Paris final jitters and unfavourable weather conditions last year mellowed him down. But would it be fair to knowingly make a draw for the World No. 1 where we can potentially lose him as early as the last-eight stage?

Djokovic defeated Nadal in straight sets at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters Final, in April but hasn’t managed to to so on the red clay in Paris. (Getty Images)

3. For the immense popularity: Honestly, Roger and Rafa are still the showstoppers. They draw the largest crowds in any tournament. Let’s consider the Miami Masters this year. Twitter was abuzz with how ticket sales dipped in the absence of the two stalwarts. News even started swirling about how well Federer and Nadal caps and t-shirts were selling even in the second week of Miami. Clearly they have the largest brigade of fans all over the world who love them dearly. The longer either of them remains in the draw, the greater number of fans will flock to the Slam.

4. For the global television audience: Wouldn’t you prefer a Grand Slam final Sunday where you can thoroughly enjoy delectable tennis of the highest quality? Or would you want a Djokovic-Nadal quarter-final that would happen on a weekday when you would perhaps fail to watch even a single game? A tennis enthusiast would obviously prefer the former. At any Slam final, a fan would want a repeat of the 2012 Australian Open summit clash no matter how laborious some of the games were. It sent the television ratings soaring, Facebook and twitter flooded with posts and sports aficionados talking about it endlessly. Wouldn’t Roland Garros want such a grand marketing opportunity?

5. For Rafa himself: He is the first man to take the crown on Court Philippe Chatrier a whopping seven times in the last 98 years. If Roland Garros can decide to be a little unconventional, it can be only because of him. If this is an unprecedented affair for the authorities, it is simply because no man has ever deserved it better than the ‘king of clay!’ Why would a major want to seed their greatest ever men’s champion in the Open Era in such a way that it can potentially diminish his chances of adding another crown? I don’t think a little benevolence would be deemed as unfair predilection towards the Spaniard when it can actually prove to be beneficial for others.

It’s a hypothetical situation and we don’t yet have an inkling of how things will turn out eventually. Since the draw is made publicly and there’s no control over any draw, it might be the worst case scenario for any of the top 5 men if Roland Garros strictly adheres to the rankings. From the point of view of both tennis and marketing, I don’t see that as a wise decision by the authorities.

Perhaps here is where they should take a cue from Wimbledon’s seeding process, where they seed players with more grass court points from the preceding two years higher. The subject is open to a lot of debate and contemplation by the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT) and it is purely their discretion. But when it is for the greater good of tennis, I don’t think an aberration and a little preferential treatment will do any harm.