Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have had another great year marked in history this year, where they met in two important finals and each winning one.
It’s the sixth consecutive year that they have both equalled or broken records and finished the year at number one and number two position.
Regardless of the fan-following of the two, it is important to mention that Nadal, because of the physicality of his game, often undergoes injury issues while Federer reaching the age of 29, is nearly touching his last stage of the career.
Thinking much into the future, the game might get a big blow when these two leave, the same happened when the two champions Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were in the same sport.
Nadal and Federer are by far the biggest draw and the two most popular sportsmen in the world building such an enormous fan-following and a momentum for the sport that when they leave, their presence will be sorely missed.
Comparing these two stars with the legends like Sampras and Agassi, when they used to play, they had their major fan following in the United States which became like needles in a haystack when they came to Europe to face the like of Becker, Henman or even
Ivanisevic. But it is not the case for these two. Coming from Spain and Switzerland, Nadal and Federer did not just have their fan-following limited to their land.
Think of it this way — for an individual sport, like tennis or squash, fans usually back the person who is from your country in an act of patriotism but even if they're playing in a foreign country against a local lad, they still get broad-based support.
The two superstars had not been stuck up, controversial nor demeaning like most, rather being respectable and massively talented at the same time. Not for a single time they have been seen behaving in an unpleasant manner on the court.
Such trivial rivalry, character and talent have managed to make tennis arguably the second or third biggest sport globally, trailing Football and Formula One. When on one hand Roger Federer has had his face put on a Swiss stamp, Rafael Nadal has had his
name given to an asteroid. For quite a few years now, these two have had the game Tennis revolve around them.
Roger Federer finished 2010 with a winning flourish after starting the year with a Grand Slam title, laying down his third title from his last four events on the ATP.
The Swiss, who finished the year second behind Nadal, put himself back to the top with his sensational end to the season at the World Tour Finals in London. The top of the men’s game is well-sorted and has been for the last few years - Federer and Nadal
having won 21 of the last 23 Grand Slams.
Federer (five titles, one Slam and the year-end event) and Nadal (three Slams, three Masters 1000s) ended 2010 as the dominant ATP pair, with the trio of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Swede Robin Soderling all struggling to join the elite.
Rafael Nadal held a big lead in the final ATP rankings of the year with 12,450 points compared to Roger Federer, who has 9,145. Nadal’s lead of over 3,000 points assured him of the year-ending top spot several months ago. The previous ranking
for the two had been the same as well.
The men’s game has always managed to replenish itself throughout the years, yet it will be a huge task to fill in the shoes of Nadal and Federer when they finally decide to call it quits to their career in the years to come.
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