Who would have thought it possible?
Even in his full season on the ATP Tour, 2005, Rafael Nadal came to Roland Garros after winning three major European clay-court titles — at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.
He went on to win the French Open on debut.
In the following nine years, the Spaniard lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires eight more times, with his only defeat coming in the fourth round of 2009 against Robin Soderling.
Nadal’s record at the French Open is 66-1. No player has reigned at an event with such absolute authority.
Of course, his domination has not been limited to Paris.
It has stretched across clay courts around the globe, earning him the sobriquet “King of Clay”.
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This year, though, he has looked far from the warlord who beat opponents even before they had stepped on those dusty, red courts.
Now, he wears the look of the hunted one, hollow-eyed and missing that one ingredient which had made him virtually invincible on the surface — his confidence.
Without that, Nadal has seemed like Samson without his mane, losing five of his 22 matches on his favourite surface.
The last time he lost that many matches in a season on clay (in 2003), he was not a regular on the World Tour, approaching his 17th birthday, ranked outside the top 100 and forced to qualify for the top tournaments.
Between 2005 and 2013 he had never lost more than two matches on clay in a season.
This year, he has lost twice to Italian Fabio Fognini, in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro.
More worryingly, his four defeats on European clay have all been straight-sets affairs.
So it is tough times for the King and, for once, he will not be the favourite when the French Open starts on Monday.
He will not even be seeded in the top six.
The favourite will, of course, be Novak Djokovic, who has a perfect (10-0) clay court record this year and has won two Masters 1000 titles.
Murray also boasts a perfect 10-0 record on clay this season, with back-to-back titles in Munich and Madrid, where he beat Nadal in the final.
Where does that leave Nadal?
It might seem odd, but he still ranks alongside Djokovic as the favourite, and both Djokovic and Murray would readily concede that.
Nadal is a different beast on the courts of Roland Garros, and to beat him in five sets on clay is a lot stiffer challenge.
Only one man, Robin Soderling, has managed to do it until now.
The Spaniard has vowed to fight and preserve that proud record.
But, as he said in Rome: “If I go to Roland Garros and I lose and I don’t play well, life continues. It’s not the end of the world.”
He is 29, only a year older than Djokovic, and there could still be a few years of clay court domination left in him.
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