Can Rafael Nadal overtake Roger Federer?
Roger Federer has unarguably been one of the best tennis players of his generation. The Swiss maestro doesn’t only have the titles to show for it but also the manner in which he has enthralled crowds all over the world. A few years back, Federer was the epitome of the sport. He was the most popular face in tennis and the most successful also. Many arguments raged as to whether he was the best ever. These arguments still persist as the fans have their own criteria for judging their idols. Yet statistically, Federer is the most successful player in tennis history.
With 16 Grand Slam titles, Federer is a titan of the sport and will inevitably remain in its hall of fame. Yet during the course of this year, a pretender to Federer’s throne has grown more prominent. Rafael Nadal, the man from Spain has grown in stature and success. The Spanish born already has one of the best head-to-head records against the Swiss master and has inevitably given him more trouble than Federer has faced against any other player.
With Nadal finally completing his career Grand Slam on Monday, another question is being raised. Can he overtake Federer to become, at least statistically, the best player of all times? Federer’s receding power and his advancing age probably means that he will not win too many more; the question has begun to take on more significance. Nadal is at the height of his power after overcoming serious injury problems last year when Federer was rampant. After winning the Australian Open this year, Federer has been unable to replicate the sort of form his fans have come to expect from him.
He has failed to reach the finals of any of the other slams, all of which were swept over by the excellent Nadal. Federer admitted his disappointment after losing in the semi-finals against Novak Djokovic even though the Swiss maestro had the opportunity to serve out the match. As he failed to take his chances, Djokovic rallied back to inflict a crushing defeat on him. On the other hand, Nadal had no such trouble in the final against the Serb as he won to join the list of all-time greats. The Spaniard won a rain interrupted match that ended 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2. Djokovic managed to hang onto Nadal until the second set but after the Spaniard broke in the third set, it was all over.
Nadal established his utter dominance to close out of the most memorable matches of his still-young career. And therein lays the problem for Federer’s fans. Nadal is only 24 as opposed to Roger Federer. Not only is age on Nadal’s side, the momentum is with the Spaniard too. Nadal has just joined Federer, Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Don Budge and Fred Perry as the players to have completed the fantastic set. And he is hungry for more. He also becomes the first man since Laver in 1969 to sweep the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year.
With 5 years remaining until he turns 29 and a possibility of 20 Grand Slams up for grabs, Nadal has a very real chance of becoming the most successful champion of all time. He already has 9 Grand Slams and with Federer’s obvious decline, no one seems to have been able to challenge his dominance in the game. Nadal, however, refused to get into the debate. As modest as he is successful, the Spaniard said that he has a lot of respect for Federer and that he has even learned more than a few things from the Swiss Master.
Nadal also says that comparing the two players is a futile exercise because both of them are different. As well as being a great champion, Nadal is also an excellent human being. If and when the day comes that Nadal does surpass Federer, even the Swiss might not be so disappointed to have been overtaken by such a great champion.
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