Federer, Nadal, alpha males of French Open

There will be 128 men in the French Open first round with 126 of them desperately trying to match-up to the sport’s two alpha males.

Defending champion Roger Federer and four-time winner Rafael Nadal, who have won 18 of the last 20 Grand Slam titles, could be forgiven for having one eye already on the June 6 final having left their rivals spellbound.

Of all the leading contenders to upset the Roland Garros formbook, only world number four Andy Murray is in the credit column, holding a narrow 6-5 career edge on Federer.

Tellingly, the Swiss, with a record 16 majors to his name, has won their last three and Murray comes into Paris on a poor claycourt streak with a run to the last eight in Madrid his best performance.

Against Nadal, Murray’s record is less attractive with the Spaniard boasting a 7-3 advantage, including both times the pair met on clay.

But Murray believes he is heading in the right direction.

“I’ve got my intensity back, my mind’s where it needs to be,” said Murray.

World number three Novak Djokovic’s figures are worse.

The Serbian, twice a semi-finalist in Paris, has won just five of his 14 meetings with Federer and seven of 21 with Nadal.

Nadal has won all of their nine meetings on clay and knocked Djokovic out of the French Open on his way to the title in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Sweden’s Robin Soderling, who sensationally knocked Nadal out in the fourth round last year, has never defeated Federer in 12 meetings.

Federer defeated the Swede in last year’s final and has won all of their three meetings on clay without dropping a set.

Nadal has a 3-2 lead over Soderling, although the world number seven has won their last two clashes.

America’s Andy Roddick took Federer to five sets in a titanic Wimbledon final in 2009 before losing 16-14 in an epic final set.

Federer holds a 19-2 lead over Roddick in a rivalry stretching back a decade; Nadal also boasts a winning record over the American with a 5-3 lead.

Poor Fernando Verdasco must be wishing he played in a different era as he stands at 0-4 against Federer and 0-10 against his Spanish compatriot, including a 6-0, 6-1 defeat in the Monte Carlo final in April.

“I think if he plays like this, nobody can beat him,” said Verdasco after Nadal romped to a record sixth consecutive Monte Carlo title.

“Last year he lost against Soderling (in the French Open fourth round) and against Federer (in Madrid) because he was really tired, and there were also problems in the knee.

“If he is not with these problems, he’s still the best on clay by far.”

Fellow Spaniard David Ferrer is also just as mystified with a 0-10 record against Federer and 3-11 in match-ups with Nadal, who has won eight of their nine on clay.

If there is to be a dark horse then it could be Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, the world nummber 27 whose all-court game can be a match for any top 10 player.

The same, by his own admission, cannot be said for his dedication on the practice courts.

Gulbis knocked Federer out in Rome and despite a 1-2 record, the Latvian has taken the Swiss great to three sets all the time.

Nadal is 3-0 against Gulbis, their most recent clash coming in three sets in the semi-finals in Rome.