The French Open 2008 draw came out and the top seed got another easy draw this year. Roger Federer not only managed to avoid the likes of Nalbandian and Djokovic, he practically has to face no major player until the quarterfinals. No offense to Same Querrey, but Federer should handle him easily on clay. Nadal on the other hand should go through Nalbandian and Djokovic to get to the final. Of course, we all know that if the real Nadal shows up, he is pretty much the heavy favorite to beat everyone including Federer this year. So here are my predictions for the French Open (and no, I will not pick a dark horse to win the French this year):
Quarters:
Federer vs. Andreev
Davydenko vs. Ferrer
Berdych (this is really tough to pick!) vs. Djokovic
Nadal vs. Nalbandian
Semis:
Federer vs. Davydenko
Djokovic vs. Nadal
Final:
Federer vs. Nadal
Winner: Nadal (4 sets).
So barring a surprise or an injury, this is Nadal’s tournament to lose. Djokovic or Nalbandian will not be able to challenge Nadal in a best of 5 sets match on clay, and that is also the case for Federer. This year is very different than last year as Nadal will also be a favorite to win Wimbledon. We could possibly have a new No. 1 by the end of Wimbledon!