Can Nadal surpass Federer in Grand Slam record?
Rafael Nadal knocked down Tomas Berdych to grab his second grass court title and eighth Grand Slam trophy overall. Rafa has a total of eight Grand Slam victories at a small age of twenty four years old and at exactly the same age; Roger Federer had just five Grand Slam titles.
A lot of analysts are of the view that Nadal will retire from the international tennis with the most Grand Slam trophies in history to his name. It's indeed possible that Rafa finishes off with the most Grand Slams, but not likely and there are three main reasons for that.
Everyone is swift to comment that Roger Federer is dead. For the first time in twelve years, Roger Federer couldn’t make it into the semi final stage of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open 2010 and it happened again at the grass court tournament in the recent past as well. As a result, Federer is not listed in the top two world rankings on the very first occasion after a period of about seven years however that does not imply that the tennis master who has dominated the world of tennis for the last many years has done with his career.
Just ignore the quarterfinal exit as well as the current ranking of number three in the world. If Roger Federer is contesting a Grand Slam clash versus Robin Soderling is he still the hot one to win? How about Andy Murray? Novak Djokovic? Andy Roddick? Federer is not at his perfect shape and form to knock down all these players, but he is yet strong enough to defeat them beyond any doubt.
Roger Federer is definitely not done grabbing Grand Slam trophies. Federer could comfortably succeed in the upcoming Grand Slam at a United States Open championship that he has triumphed in five out of the last six years and Rafael Nadal has actually never succeeded. Federer is likely to win at least two more major titles in his professional life, which would raise his total to 18 trophies in all.
Another issue to discuss are injuries. Roger Federer has been lucky in the injury section. During his peak time, Federer hasn't actually faced any injuries that were critical enough to damage his prospects at a major tournament. Rafael Nadal on the other hand at just twenty four years of age has already experienced a critical injury that kept him away from two Grand Slam tournaments last season. The knee problem is not going to fix completely either.
Rafa plays the kind of tennis that is crude on his legs as well as knees. There is certainly no chance that Rafael Nadal is going to participate in every Grand Slam tournament from now until he turns twenty nine like Roger Federer is now.
Nadal is definitely going to skip a Grand Slam tournament from time to time which implies that he will need to earn an amazing percentage of the majors that he battles in to reach eighteen Grand Slam trophies.
The third and the last reason Rafael Nadal won't match Roger Federer in Grand Slam trophies is the race. Occasional sports fanciers may not recognize how good men's tennis is at the moment as only few of the players are acknowledged on Sports centre. Here is a list of the authorized Grand Slam title rivals during Roger Federer's prime years:
Rafael Nadal
Andy Roddick
Nadal about three years ago was not even close to the player he is currently. Roddick was acclaimed by USA experts but he contested in an awful generation of men's tennis contenders and just triumphed in a single Grand Slam. It's difficult to even mention him as a great challenger even though he was ranked number two behind Roger at some point of his career as well. However, like Nadal, Roddick has also grown from the last two years. Now, let us have a look at the authentic rivals in the Rafael Nadal age:
Roger Federer (he's not over yet), Andy Roddick,Fernando Verdasco, Robin Soderling, Juan Martin, Del Potro,Andy Murray, Jo Wilfried Tsonga as well as Novak Djokovic.
Apart from these players there are yet many guys left hat could grow into rivals before Rafa’s period is over. Tomas Berdych just experienced his best performance in a Grand Slam. Marin Cilic is another one in the list. Gael Monfils is also capable if he can always remain fit. Nadal is undoubtedly on top of the tennis rankings at the moment but there are a couple of tough contenders against him to fight for the his spot meaning by that the 2010 Wimbledon champion will have to work hard as far as his health is concerned, if he wants to enjoy his current status for long.
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