Will the French Open be more interesting if Rafael Nadal loses?

Rafael Nadal didn’t use to lose on clay.

A lopsided eight of his 13 major titles were won on the red dirt at Roland Garros. There’s his Open era-leading 311-24 record on clay, including a 44-7 mark in finals. Since 2005, he’s lost to exactly three players in those finals: Hector Zeballos (once), Roger Federer (twice), and Novak Djokovic (four times).

For nine years, that Nadal was going to own the clay courts wasn’t just an expectation, it was a lock.

But now, with a stellar season fading faster and faster behind him, the “King of Clay”’s reign over Roland Garros is less certain than ever, and for the first time since he won his first French Open title at just 19 in 2005, Nadal might not be the odds-on favorite.

“Winning against Rafa in the finals of a big tournament on clay, his preferred surface, is definitely a confidence booster,” Djokovic said after defeating Nadal at the Italian Open, the last major warmup event before the French Open. “It’s the ultimate challenge and I’m very happy with my game so far and hopefully I can carry that into Roland Garros.”

Murmurs about Nadal’s waning dominance became exclamations when he lost to compatriot David Ferrer in April in Monte Carlo. Nadal had won the tournament eight straight times, from 2005 through 2012, until he lost to Djokovic in the 2013 final. It was the start of things to come: Djokovic’s won four in a row - all finals - against Nadal, is 5-1 against Nadal in finals going back to 2013, and 2-0 in finals on clay over that time.

“Novak is one of the best in the world and is playing great,” said Nadal in Rome. “I played well at times, but my legs didn’t answer after a tough week. I can do better, but I am also proud about this week.”

It’s difficult to pinpoint what motivates Nadal, as he’s been less mined than his long-time rival, Federer, and less expressive than Djokovic, particularly off the court. It’s not only money - Nadal makes a lot less in endorsements ($21 million to Federer’s $65 million last year, per Forbes) - and it’s not a pure love of the rigors of professional tennis, either.

“Playing sports is a good thing for ordinary people; sport played at the professional level is not good for your health,” Nadal wrote in “Rafa,” his 2012 biography. “It pushes your body to limits that human beings are not naturally equipped to handle.”

Nadal’s physical fragility is borne out of the full-force, grind-it-out aggression he levels at opponents when he is fit, a gamble that’s contributed to the uncertainty surrounding his pursuit of a record ninth French Open title, which would move him one closer to catching Federer’s Open era-leading 17 Grand Slam titles.

“This week in Rome was hard, emotionally, mentally and physically,” Nadal said in Italy, where he played three long three-set matches en route to the final, including a nearly three-hour battle with Andy Murray. “But I will keep working hard like I have done all my career.”

Last season, when Nadal was swashbuckling through tournaments like a man possessed, the question of whether he’d catch Federer’s record seemed irritatingly easy to answer. He upped his Grand Slam total to 13 after winning the French and U.S. Open titles, adding 10 ATP titles along the way, and appeared unstoppable.

But after the spectacle in January in Australia, against Stanislas Wawrinka, someone he’d never lost a set to in 12 previous meetings, let alone a match, Nadal went from his usual displays of agility and assault-laden athleticism to a dude better suited to playing online poker all day. His body let him down, and took with it his shot at a 14th Grand Slam title. Coupled with shaky results on the clay courts where he’d been most sure-footed, Nadal’s race for Federer’s record has never seemed like more of a marathon.

Nobody could ever count Nadal out of Roland Garros - he’s made a career out of comebacks and a relentless, almost machine-like drive. But that’s also why it’s so compelling when he loses, when the one who refuses to give up can’t fight anymore.

With Paris days away and guarantees swept aside, there’s a new question to be asked of Nadal at the French Open: is it more interesting if he wins, or if he loses?