The Count of Monte Carlo

This clay season just got real.

I must admit, as a Nole fan, I was already writing off 2013's Euro-clay season as loss. Nadal took home two titles (including a thorough beatdown of his primary whipping boy, David Ferrer) and lost just one match in his comeback tour on South American/Mexican clay, not to mention winning Indian Wells, his first hard court title since 2010. It was pretty much a given that Rafa would sweep through April and May without any sort of hiccup.

Fast forward through a very combative final and we are back in 2011 all over again. Djokovic really took it to Nadal at his "favorite tournament." Yeah, it would be my favorite, too, had I won there EIGHT TIMES IN A ROW.

Anyway, now that the road to Roland Garros is not yet a foregone conclusion, let's try to make sense of what could go down as we get closer to the season's second Grand Slam.

Barcelona: now this is a foregone conclusion. Nadal has won the trophy here the last seven times he's entered. His half of the draw contains a few threatening players like Berdych, Raonic, and Dimitrov, but they are all in Berdych's quarter. However, his confidence may be shaken after his dustup with Nole in Monaco, so maybe, possibly Ferrer has a chance to sneak one in? Yeah, I don't think so either.

Madrid: Fed is defending his title here, but we are back to red this time around. The blue clay of 2012 was much more grass-like than anything else, so I don't think he'll be as lucky this year. Both Nadal and Djokovic have major points to gain here and I'm sure Andy will have worked on his clay court abilities to be a factor. It all depends on how the draw shakes up. Nadal could meet one of the other Big 4 in the quarters.

Rome: the final tune up will be a good one. Nadal ran through Djokovic in the final here last year, but look for Nole to try to exact some revenge here. Much like Madrid, it comes down to where Nadal is placed in the draw.

SO, with all that being said, WHO YA GOT? Can Nole bring back the magic of his 2011 RG tune-ups? Will Roger or Andy make any noise these coming weeks? Most importantly (in my opinion, will Rafa get a protected ranking at Roland Garros? The French Open is closing in on us really quick and I have a rekindled excitement for it! Today, we saw an excellent preview of a potential final round matchup. Or semifinal. Or quarterfinal. Please give Nadal the fourth seed...