If there’s one thing that really gets a debate
started in the tennis fraternity, it’s the ardent topic of who’s the better
player – Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. And seeing that I’ve written Federer’s
name before Nadal’s, one can easily make out who I’m going to side with. It’s
plain and simple actually. When it comes to handling tennis, no one does a better
job than Federer.
I know what the Nadal fans
might be thinking at this stage – WTF is this guy talking about? Nadal has a
better head-to-head record against Federer; he’s on 13 Grand Slams titles and has
all the chances in the world to go past the propitious number of Federer’s 17;
and of course who can forget that Nadal was the youngest player to have
completed the career Grand Slam.
Top all of that with the
fact that Nadal’s grit is probably the most ruthless on the circuit today and he,
without a shadow of a doubt, is an epitome of a defensive tennis player. It’s
really strange to bring a “football” terminology into the sport of tennis but
no one can argue with the point that to win a point once against the Spanish
Matador, one has to win the point 3 times.
Also let us not forget
that Nadal did make one of the most impressive comebacks in the sport last year
when he went on a title-winning spree to bag eight titles, including the French
Open and US Open, after an injury lay-off of seven months. However, keeping all
of the above facets in mind, the element that is of essence is that he is
starting to show signs of cracks in his armor.
There’s no doubting the
fact that Nadal is a great player. In fact, his stupendous records speak
volumes when it comes to establishing his aura as a fighter. But let’s get one
thing straight shall we? Rafael Nadal is, was and will always be second to a
phenomenon called Roger Federer.
And that is where the answer
to the whole “who’s the greatest ever” squabble starts taking shape. Because,
as a rule of thumb, the thing that matters most in a sport that is as grueling
and gruesome as tennis is fitness. Therefore, a tennis player can be said to be
an embodiment of greatness if he/she can maintain a perfect blend between the
playing technique and fitness.
Consequently coming over
to Rafael Nadal’s pattern of playing, it is clearly visible that he struggles
with injuries and has always writhed to implement the desired balance that creates
a tennis player’s character. In fact the world no. 1 has spent quite a lot of time
being strangely disoriented, and that too on a surface that he’s been given
credit of dominating like none other.
Let’s start with the Barcelona
Open, shall we? I can’t call myself an expert but when a man who has won the
French Open a record 8 times falls victim on clay to a player like Nicolas
Almagro (No offence to Almagro. For what it’s worth, he’s been in good knick
lately) it is a matter of concern. But let’s give credit to Nadal on that one. He
could have been jet-lagged or something.
But then came the Monte
Carlo Masters. Another clay court tournament, another Spanish opponent, another
reprehensible exit for Nadal. This time the honour of being called the
“Nadal-slayer” went to David Ferrer. A worthy opponent perhaps for Nadal to be
losing to. Losing to a top-10 player is possibly a little less shameful. (Seriously
no offense to Almagro)
Soon after, Rafael Nadal
perhaps was given some solace when he lucked out at the ATP Madrid Masters. A laborious
defence for his title gave him little consolation as the “elusive” victory came
at the expense of Michael Chang’s latest prodigy Kei Nishikori being forced to
retire in the final. Oh and before I forget, Nishikori did manage to win the
first set before his back gave out.
I guess the Nadal-bashing
is becoming a little too much considering after all that he is the world number
1. The world’s best player at present as some might like to delicately put it.
However, let me remind those Nadal loyalists the forlorn truth that I still
have not pointed out the worst. Because what followed Madrid Masters was a
record shattering that was just waiting to occur.
Nadal’s loss to world
number 2 Novak Djokovic at the ATP Rome Masters final marked the first time
since 2004 that the Spanish Matador failed to win three clay court clashes in
the same calendar year. There’s always this heated discussion when it comes to
comparing the power games of Nadal and Djokovic; but Djoker clearly showed that
he intends to dethrone the king.
So, having said all of
that, now comes the time when I start putting things into perspective. The
point that I was trying to make by pointing out Nadal’s recent results is that
there is an interesting point that needs to be perceived. That point is that 27-year
old Rafael Nadal is struggling more than the 32-year old Roger Federer when it
comes to “handling” tennis.
For instance, if Nadal had
never been born, Federer would have added 7 more Grand Slams (4 French Opens, 1
Wimbledon, 2 Australian Opens) to his extraordinary number of 17 thereby taking
his record to a staggering 24 Grand Slams. However, the same can never be said
about Nadal. In fact, Federer had won 15 Grand Slams by the age of 27 as
compared to Nadal’s 13.
Secondly, a record that
will stand the test of time and can never ever be touched by Nadal is the dominating
fact that Federer has played 23 Grand Slam semifinals in a row. The closest
that anyone is to that astounding number is Ivan Lendl, who reached 10 in a
row. Therefore, to put it in years, Roger Federer reached atleast the semis of
every Grand Slam for six straight years.
Leaving aside the
semifinal pointer (which is probably an understatement of the term “consistency”),
Federer stamped his name in the record books at the ongoing 2014 French Open when
he set the indomitable record of being the only man in the history of the sport
to have played in 58 consecutive Grand Slams. Meanwhile, Nadal’s consecutive
streak at present is that of four.
Now that I’ve started with
Federer’s mettlesome records I guess it’s going to be very hard to stop.
Mentioning records like holding the world no. 1 spot for 302 weeks and holding
it for 237 weeks straight won’t even make sense as Nadal is not even close to
that unsurpassable figure. To top it all off, for 3 straight years the Swiss
Maestro walked home with 3 out of the 4 Slams.
Another record that will
cement my claim of Rafael Nadal never reaching Federer’s greatness level is that
FedeX till date remains the only tennis player is history to have been seeded
number 1 for three consecutive Olympics when he competed at the 2012 London
Olympics. Not that it’s worth mentioning, but Federer (then 30) also managed to
win the silver medal there.
Hence, If I was to sum it
all up in possibly the shortest manner plausible, Roger Federer’s immaculate discipline
when it comes to handling his body for
sustainability and his passion for creating an impeccable blend between his
majestic inventions and his vintage techniques is what leaves Rafael Nadal
miles and miles behind on the “greatest-ever bandwagon”.
