If you were going to run down the streets of Pamplona tormenting bulls, you would pray none of those chasing after you had the tenacity of Rafael Nadal.
Rafa is the greatest clay court tennis player of all time, a fact which isn’t up for debate. Just how high he rates on the overall list is another question. I would say top 10 without any doubt and probably top five as well. The amazing thing is that the history books are far from closed for the Spanish champion so win a few more Grand Slams and he could be pushing up even higher.
His glory days appeared to come between 2008 to 2010 where he won six out of a possible 12 Grand Slam titles. He did this on all surfaces. At the end of that era it looked like his troublesome body (and the way he showed such constant disregard for it on the tennis court) may have taken its toll. He still managed to win the French Open again twice and make another three Grand Slam finals but by the end of 2012 his knees were shot and he didn’t play the US or Australian Opens. At this point there was every chance his best days had passed him by, but sporting champions have a habit of making the experts look silly.
He came back this year and won the French Open again for the eighth time which was amazing in itself but after taking a break to recover he was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon. Was this the end? Was that last French Open title his swan song? In Rafa’s mind it certainly wasn’t and he proceeded to produce one of the greatest Grand Slam performances of all time in winning the US Open last week.
This is a tough era. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are playing their best tennis and would secretly claim this is their time, not Nadal’s. Roger Federer is still lurking and with the likes of Ferrer, Berdych, Del Potro and Tsonga in the second tier the men’s game is extremely strong.
Rafa has 13 Grand Slam titles to his name already and has won on all four surfaces — a feat many of the greats never came close to. If he continues on and wins another three or four over the next couple of years, arguments will start about whether he has overtaken Federer as the best ever. And to be honest, if this man with more courage than I’ve ever seen does go down as the best, I for one wouldn’t argue.
