Having won the Hamburg Masters for four of the previous six years, world No.1 Roger Federer couldn't put his stamp on the trophy this year.

His biggest rival on most surfaces, world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, not only beat Federer but mastered world No.3 Novak Djokovic on the clay in Germany.

But his defeat in Hamburg was not as surprising as his downfall in Rome, where he lost in the second round against Juan Carlos Ferrero in two sets.

'Nadal is likely to find that his biggest rival in Paris will not be Federer but the ambitious 21-year-old Djokovic'


It was the second time this year that he had been beaten by a Spanish opponent, which does little for his confidence with only a week to go to the start of the French Open, the only Grand Slam he has yet to win, and one which Nadal has won for the last three years.

Although Nadal and Djokovic have met 10 times and Nadal leads 7-3, the Serbian's excellent performance at the Australian Open in January, plus defeating Nadal at Indian Wells and winning the tournament and the title in Hamburg will give Djokovic a massive boost in confidence.

Nadal is likely to find that his biggest rival in Paris will not be Federer but the ambitious 21-year-old Serb, who has proved many times recently that he need fear neither Federer nor Nadal.

When he is on form, Djokovic is capable of beating anyone, but he also knows that Nadal will be determined to hold on to his crown as the King of Clay. And Federer will be even more determined to finally become a Roland Garros champion.