When tennis is played on hard courts or on grass, Rafael Nadal is merely a top five player who gets good results much of the time but doesn't dominate. European clay though, is a different story. In the last three years, he has been virtually unbeatable on the surface and continued his dominance on Sunday by beating world number one Roger Federer in the finals of the Monte Carlo tournament for the third year running.

Federer. who has reigned supreme on all other surfaces, is no slouch on clay but he's only managed to beat Nadal on the dirt once in eight matches. He lost 7-5, 7-5 in Monte Carlo but can still feel good about the real clay court prize: the French Open which begins in three weeks. It's the only major Roger has not yet won. Nadal, just 21, has won it three times in a row and I just have a feeling is ripe for a loss in Paris to Federer or someone else.

If Roger wins the French, my friend Henry is gonna do a back handspring in front of the Taj Mahal!