Greatness from Rafa on display
IT was most certainly not Rafael Nadal’s fault Roger Federer fell short of keeping their promised date for the semifinal any more than it was the Spaniard’s fault that neither Novak Djokovic nor Andy Murray were healthy enough to compete in the U.S. Open.
But it was entirely to Nadal’s credit in the way he marched through the draw to the final before destroying the overmatched 28-seed South African Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 with a virtuoso performance through which he captured his third U.S. Open and 16th Grand Slam title.
Nadal has won all of them under the tutelage of his lifetime coach and mentor, his uncle Toni. But the quest for 17 and beyond — and to catch and overtake Federer’s standing record of 19 such titles — seems destined to continue without the individual he has called, “A very important person in my life.”
That is because Uncle Toni decided earlier this year to step away from the grind in order to run the Nadal Tennis Academy in Spain. Carlos Moya, a former No. 1 who had previously joined the team, will assume much of the vacated responsibility.
“It is true he will not be traveling, but I have other coaches,” said Nadal, who had not won a hardcourt tournament since Qatar in January 2014. “I will see if I need more help.”
Anderson, the 6-foot-8 slugger who, at 32 in the world was the lowest-ranked Open finalist since the inception of the ATP rankings in 1973, was helpless Sunday against an opponent who allowed for no openings.
Nadal came to net 16 times and won 16 points. Defense instantly became offense. The champion did not confront a single break point. Indeed, Nadal did not face so much as a deuce point until his 14th and final service game when he served for the match at 5-4 in the third set.
This is the first time since 2010, and the fourth time overall, that Nadal and Federer combined to win all four majors. In tennis, where the Big Four have won 46 of the last 51 Grand Slam events, everything new is old and everything old is new.
The next generation is coming, because it always does, but it is still waiting in line behind the Greatest Generation.
And it may wait for a while, what with Nadal’s resurgence following an injury-wrecked 2016, the 36year-old Federer’s renaissance, Djokovic’s anticipated revival after a long break caused by an elbow injury that followed Wimbledon, and Murray’s expected return to health following hip issues that forced him to withdraw from the Open two days before it began.
“I have a rivalry with Roger, and of course it is important for our sport, but I have one with Novak, too,” Nadal said. “Roger has 19, I have 16 and Novak has 12 [Slam titles]. It is remarkable part of the history of our sport.
“We all have great passion for tennis, we have the spirit to always improve and we are hard workers. We have been there almost every week for a lot of years. That is difficult to do.”
Federer beat Nadal in a five-set final in the Australian Open before skipping Roland Garros in order to prepare for Wimbledon, which he won. His quarterfinal defeat here to Juan Martin del Potro left him with a record of 18-1 in this year’s slams.
Meanwhile, Nadal won his 10th French Open at Roland Garros before falling 13-15 in the fourth round of Wimbledon and triumphing in Queens. He finishes 2017 with a 23-2 record in majors.
“Of course, I am surprised,” Nadal said. “I was surprised in January, but after the first three months I could see I was playing well and he was playing great. So now I am a little bit less surprised.”
The Big Four. The Big Three. The Big Two. But there is one man at the top of the tennis world and it again is the 31-year-old tennis ball wizard from Manacor.
The once and present — and do not bet against — future champion.
“It is difficult to find players in the same generation who have achieved all the things we have achieved,” Nadal said. “We’re in an era that it may not be not nice to say, because I’m part of it, but we are in an era that some players make incredible things in this sport, no?”
Yes.