King of clay
Nadal wins French Open to tie Federer’s record with 20 Grand Slam titles,
Nothing is as elusive in the world today, it seems, as an accepted fact. Even a global virus, to some, is a matter of opinion.
So it should be no surprise at all that the sport of tennis is not immune to this modern condition.
For more than a decade, it has been generally accepted that Roger Federer is the greatest player of all-time. It’s hard to say how many times John McEnroe — no slouch himself as a player, and now the top tennis analyst in the world — spoke of the great Swiss star in precisely those terms.
Federer broke Pete Sampras’ record for career Grand Slam singles victories in 2009, and continued to add more wins before hitting 20. Sampras had owned the record for nine years, but it seemed Federer would be on top for much, much longer.
Age, however, became Federer’s enemy. Age and fragility. Just this year alone, two knee procedures caused him to miss the U.S. Open and French Open. His prime pursuers, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, did not relent and certainly did not wait for the 39-year-old Federer to get well again.
It was Nadal, on the famous red clay courts at Roland Garros in Paris, who finally caught Federer. On Sunday, he thrashed Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 player, in three convincing sets. It was the 13th French Open title for Nadal, and his 20th Grand Slam title.
This result means the accepted fact of Federer’s peerlessness should not only be questioned, but is almost certainly set to be erased.
Nadal is five years younger than Federer. After winning the French Open without losing a set, the next one may only be seven months away, depending on what happens to the tennis calendar. This year, Roland Garros was pushed to October from the spring.
Federer — unless he can somehow summon the will, health and ability to capture the Australian Open in January — is likely to move to second place on the all-time Grand Slam list by the spring, given that nobody came even close to besting Nadal in Paris this month. Djokovic, meanwhile, is 33 years old and has 17 major titles. He’s probably going to ease past Federer at some point as well.
What this all means to tennis history — well, it depends on your opinion. Nadal’s accomplishments, however, may transcend his sport in a way the gentlemanly Federer’s have not. His mastery of this single competition, the French Open, arguably goes beyond what any athlete in any other sport has been able to accomplish in theirs.
“The love story that I have with this city, and with this court, is unforgettable,” said Nadal after handing Djokovic only his second loss of 2020 by a resounding 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 score.
Try to find a comparison to Nadal’s 13 wins in Paris.
Federer won Wimbledon
eight times. Serena Williams has seven wins in Melbourne and another seven at the All England Club.
Jack Nicklaus was often superb at Augusta National, but he won the Masters only six times.
Wayne Gretzky owned the Hart Trophy, winning it nine times. Bobby Orr won the Norris Trophy eight times.
Rogers Hornsby won baseball’s batting title six times in a row, still a record.
Swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and a total of 28 medals in four Olympics. Maybe that’s some sort of comparison to Nadal, although that’s in four different cities over 16 years in multiple disciplines, and not all the medals were gold.
Nadal is from Majorca, but he absolutely owns Paris. In 102 career matches in the French Open, he has lost twice. Bjorn Borg was viewed as a clay genius and he won the French six times, putting him second to Nadal. Just seven behind.
This may have been Nadal’s toughest test at Roland Garros. Not only was the tournament shifted to the fall, but organizers decided to use different balls that he found heavier, and the cool temperatures for much of the competition played havoc with his ability to use topspin in a devastating way that has made him almost unbeatable.
Against Djokovic, it was also the first French Open men’s final to be played indoors, as they decided to close the roof to keep the rain out — and 1,000 or so spectators dry.
Reviewing Sunday’s match is almost pointless. Djokovic won the first point, but lost that game on serve. He used the drop shot over and over as a strategy, but it didn’t bother Nadal much.
The two had met 55 times before and Djokovic had won 14 of the last 18 contests, including a three-set triumph of his own back in January, now known as the pre-COVID era of the sport.
That layer of seeming dominance before Sunday, however, meant nothing for the Serb on clay. Nadal’s expertise on the surface makes it seem as though it’s a unique subsport within the world of tennis.
So should he be recognized now as the best ever, not Federer? Blasphemy, some say, but the numbers are the numbers.
Head-to-head, Nadal has beaten Federer 17 times out of 25 meetings. In Grand Slam finals, Nadal leads Federer 6-2 in their personal rivalry.
In the golden era of men’s tennis, Nadal clearly has the edge. Never thought you’d read that in this space. You just can’t trust facts anymore.