Any hope of Rafael Nadal superseding the Roger Federer’s Grand Slam tally? – Tennis Special
Former world number one, Rafael Nadal, is definitely down and out after seeing a forceful withdrawal from the upcoming London Olympics due to a knee injury that has always troubled him ever since he stepped in to the junior’s tennis
career.
It has been a tough grass court season for the Spaniard who has seen two early exits from the warm-up Wimbledon tournament in Halle as well Wimbledon Championships that was contested in the All England Lawn Tennis Club. People
might think that it is a strategic move by the King of Clay to get some rest before the year’s fourth Grand Slam Championship, the US Open, kick off in New York in September.
However, it is definitely not the case especially considering the courage of the Spanish professional who never bows down at any stage. Nadal was gutted to miss out on the London Olympics. He was the defending champion to start
with having won the gold medal in the previous edition of the Olympics in Beijing, China.
No one can withdraw from the world’s elitist tournament that is competed on four-yearly basis. Rafa will most probably play one more Olympics in 2016 and at max may feature in the 2020 Olympics as well but it is highly unlikely.
So, the question of the quitting the Olympics on purpose is definitely out for the Mallorca born superhuman who has also chosen to be the flag bearer of the country. Coming to the statement of the former world number one Pete Sampras
that Nadal has the potential to supersede the Grand Slam tally of Roger Federer that is taken to 17 after the stupendous achievement in the recent Wimbledon Championships at the same place where Olympics will be contested this season.
Nadal was 24-year-old when he clinched his first US Open title at New York. It was his ninth Grand Slam title of the career and many people including Sampras predicted that he will overpower the Swiss Maestro if he manages to schedule
his overall tennis year better.
Sampras who won 14 Grand Slam titles in his career was the leading Major titles holder before the Swiss legend took over his place and now comfortably rules the world at the top of the rankings.
However, Nadal has not been able to clasp on to the Grand Slam titles other than his favourite clay court surface Major, the Roland Garros French Open. He could have been closer to the Federer if the Serb arch rival, Novak Djokovic,
never existed.
Nadal lost seven matches in the row to the Serb and four of them were the finals of the Grand Slam Championships. So, it would have been a bit possible for the Spaniard to win more Grand Slams than Federer if Djokovic wasn’t born.
Federer is still playing and winning. Djokovic is not holding up and allowing Nadal to squeeze through easy Major title triumphs. It will require a marvellous performance in the next three years from the Spaniard to have any chance
of overpowering the total number of Grand Slams of Federer.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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