The 2011 French Open is a two-player competition.

But thanks for competing, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and the scores of others attempting to take home the title.

The world's two top-ranked men's players are Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and a duel between the two clay-court stars basically seems like a given.

Both Djokovic and Nadal have a strong case to win it all.

On one hand there is Rafael Nadal. He has already lost to Djokovic twice on clay this year, and a losing a third time might be a stretch considering Nadal's ability to rise to the occasion.

He is the same age as Djokovic, yet he's won nine majors compared to Djokovic's two.

Nadal's winning percentage at the French Open is bordering on ridiculous. He has only lost one match out of 39. He has six French Open titles in seven years, and had beaten Djokovic nine straight times on clay before losing twice in a row.

There's a reason Nadal is considered the King of Clay. He is probably the greatest clay-court player of all time, and despite two setbacks to Djokovic, he still is probably the current best player on the surface.

Unless you're Rocky Marciano, you're going to have to lose sometime, and Djokovic can't keep up this streak forever. Nadal wants to avenge the two straight losses, and there's no better clay-court stage to do it than Roland Garros.

At the French Open, it won't be a best-of-three-set match. In a best of five, Nadal's conditioning will come into play. He has tremendous stamina, and he would have a better chance to outlast Djokovic.

A motivated Nadal, on his favorite surface, is probably better than any tennis player ever.

But dismissing Djokovic is rather pointless.

Not only has Djokovic beaten Nadal on clay twice this year, he's beaten him four times overall. Clearly, Djokovic has turned a corner with the winning streak, and he's a better player than he was two years ago.

Djokovic has confidence, and he's in Nadal's head. How could he not be? Nadal was considered unstoppable, yet he lost four straight times to one player, and twice on clay. Djokovic is riding a fantastic 39-match winning streak.

And it gets worse. One of those victories over Nadal was in Madrid -- Rafa's home country. Djokovic beat Nadal in straight sets with the Spaniard's home fans cheering him on. It's going to be a lot tougher for Nadal in Paris.

Djokovic's serve is probably at its best right now, and he's moving the ball better than he ever has. He's shown endurance in this winning streak, and rarely gives up a set.

Consider Djokovic and his confidence, as well as the way he's moving the ball. He may very well exhaust the competition, as well as Nadal should they meet in the Final.

By the time Djokovic reaches the Final, he may be in great shape and ready to pounce on Nadal's challenge. The Spaniard has already had trouble getting winners on Djokovic in their four matches this year.

The bottom line? This will be a hard-fought duel, and the French Open title can go either way.

Djokovic, though, deserves a slight edge.

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