Indestructible Nadal on course for more history
Winning a fourth US Open title would only enhance the Spaniard’s position on list of tennis immortals
This is a prophecydefying era in tennis, and never more so when it comes to Rafael Nadal. The indestructible Spaniard, closing in on his fourth US Open title in New York this weekend, has been written off more times than lunches at the Waldorf Astoria. Whether it was his first-round Wimbledon loss to Steve Darcis in 2013, or his humbling by Dustin Brown two years later, or his Flushing Meadows defeat by Lucas Pouille in 2016 – one that confirmed a second straight season without a major triumph – arguments were advanced that he was finished, that he played the game too hard, that his knees would never hold out.
Typically, for a man who once said that he was ready to die in pursuit of more grand slam titles, Nadal has produced the most emphatic rebuke. Come Monday morning, he could be standing on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, traditional venue for the champion’s photocall, with 19 majors to his name, just one shy of Roger Federer’s record. Such are the legions of Fedmaniacs and Rafaholics defending their chosen one’s right to be acclaimed as the greatest of all time, any attempt to separate the two is fraught with risk. But the adoration for Federer, which grows with each unlikely
testament to his longevity, might just be blinding us to the reality that Nadal’s resilience, after so many injury battles, is every bit as startling. So much so, there is increasingly a case that he will not just emulate his great rival, but usurp him.
Granted, just as in 2017, this year’s US Open draw has opened up firmly in Nadal’s favour. But over the span of his career, this is hardly a familiar circumstance. While Federer won 12 of his 20 majors in the 2003-07 period, that distant era when players such as Mark Philippoussis and Fernando Gonzalez could still reach slam finals, most of Nadal’s feats have been set against the pomp of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Indeed, in the matches where he has faced members of the “Big Four” in majors, he has won three-quarters of them. Federer, by contrast, has won fewer than half.
Nothing, ultimately, should detract from the dominance that Federer established between 2004 and 2010, when he competed in 45 consecutive semi-finals at the slams. It is one of tennis’s most giddying statistics.
Not quite as eye-watering,