US Open 2010: Four reasons why Rafael Nadal is ahead of Roger Federer
The professional tennis player from Spain, Rafael Nadal is currently the top ranked player from the men’s side. An accomplishment he also held two years ago back in 2008 however until very recently the twenty four year old Rafa has never been the number one player in the eyes of public. That accolade belonged to the Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer, for long . However as a result of inconsistent performances throughout this season, doubts are starting to increase about the continuation of the twenty nine year old Roger’s reign.
On the other hand, Rafael Nadal is seen as a more composed and focused player this season than anyone else on the tour. With the arrival of the United States Open tennis tournament, the current grass court Grand Slam winner as well as the French Open champion is looking extremely strong to grab his first title at the Flushing Meadows.
Here are the top three reasons why Nadal is the US Open hot favourite for the very first time and why the Spaniard may have outshined Roger for good.
1. Rafael regained the top spot
For the last five seasons, only Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal have held the top rankings in the world. While the Swiss tennis player has remained at the number one position for most of this period, Nadal managed to make his way to the top, on the very first occasion, back in 2008 during the month of June and held it until Federer regained the rankings back in July.
This season, Rafa grabbed the top spot once again after capturing the French Open title whereas Roger has dropped down in rankings to as low as number three in the world this summer. Nadal and Roger stepped into the Flushing Meadows at the US Open 2010 as number one and two seeds respectively and unless the right handed Swiss manages to capture a title, Rafa should close out the year as world number one with the aptitude to stay there for long.
2. Nadal has made his way into the semi finals of all championships
The Spaniard tennis ace is not only ranked number one tennis player but has also been playing classy tennis throughout this season as well. Although he has not competed in every single tournament this year, however every time he has stepped on the court, the Spaniard has undoubtedly played at his very best. In all the competitions he has participated this season, Nadal has at least reached the semi final round of every single contest. It also includes two major victories among these appearances.
Meanwhile, in spite of the fact that Roger Federer captured the Australian Open title earlier this season; his consequent major appearances have resulted in relatively early departures. If he continues to play that way at the Flushing Meadows as well, only one of them will remain for the super Saturday and it will definitely be Rafael.
3. Rafa’s game has also improved on hard courts
Roger’s advantage has always been his outstanding game on all sorts of surfaces. However, Rafa, previously famous as a clay court player has developed his game as a serious threat on grass and hard surfaces as well.
For instance, after failing to make his way into the second round of his first grass court Grand Slam tournament back in 2005, Rafa has reached in a total of four major finals and captured two trophies in each of the consequent season, excluding the previous year as a result of injury.
In the United States Open tennis tournament, he has reached the semi final round in each of the last two seasons, after failing to surpass the fourth round before 2008. He also grabbed a gold medal at the Olympic Games back in 2008 and won the hard court Australian Open as his first hard court major crown back in 2009.
Now the Spaniard has to get just a single trophy in order to complete his Grand Slam deed, the United States Open tennis tournament 2010.
Tags: