French Open 2018: 4 players who can beat Rafael Nadal

It's been a much expected month and a half with the World No.1 Rafael Nadal dominating the clay court season in usual fashion. Emerging as the winner in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, he suffered his only loss at the Madrid Masters.

The "King of Clay" has been handed a dream draw at Roland Garros as most of the fierce rivals, including the likes of Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev are in the other half of the draw. With his arch nemesis Roger Federer skipping the French Open yet again, the Spaniard is poised to defend his title on the red dirt.

Nadal might face his old friend and foe Richard Gasquet in a potential third round(3R) match. With quite a lot of hours on the court already, the Spaniard's knees need to hold up for another grueling couple of weeks.

Let us look at the top contenders to challenge Nadal in the French Open this year:

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

The former Roland Garros champion is seeded as low as 20th for the first time since 2006. The Serbian showed glimpses of returning to his old form in Rome, where he posted a stunning victory against Kei Nishikori and gave Nadal a tough fight. Nole stills leads 26-25 in their head to head meetings.

The duo have played some epic encounters at the French Open in the past and Djokovic has the game to topple Nadal and deny him another title. Novak might potentially face Thiem or Zverev at the penultimate stage. If he manages to get past the first week, then he can prove to be a real challenger as it will boost his confidence tremendously.

KEVIN ANDERSON

Can Anderson cause an upset?

The South African is seeded sixth at Roland Garros and might be a potential impediment for Nadal in the quarterfinals. Anderson played compelling tennis in Madrid, where he made it to the semi-finals.

The South African can trouble Nadal with his huge serves and prevent the Spaniard from dictating the game. He needs to be consistent with his groundstrokes and minimise the unforced errors to put pressure on Nadal.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV

Zverev is oozing with confidence

The second-seeded Zverev is the biggest adversary that Nadal might have to tackle if both men reach the final. Zverev lost a close match against the Spaniard in Rome and could have won it without the rain delay. The 21-year-old has a big serve and huge forehand to see off Nadal.

Sasha comes into the tournament after being crowned the champion at the Bavarian International and emerging victorious in Madrid, where he defeated Thiem in straight sets. The German might have to face Dominic again in the quarters and potentially Dimitrov in the semis.

DOMINIC THIEM

Thiem is a big favorite

The 7th seeded Thiem is one of the favorites to win the title, having won convincingly against Nadal at the Madrid Open. The Australian reached the final in Madrid and won the Lyon Cup, defeating Gilles Simon. He is the biggest threat to the Spaniard's title run. Thiem might face Sam Querrey in the fourth round and Zverev in the quarterfinals.

With that being said, best of five sets is a different ball game, especially on clay. Considering Nadal's 79-2 win-loss record at Roland Garros, he is the clear favorite to clinch a record 11th title and bite that trophy in celebration.