First of all let me tell you a truth. I wanted to write this article when Rafael Nadal won Wimbledon 2010 after a breathtaking tournament in which he appeared to have shaken off the tag of King of Clay and moved on to become a complete player. I was just caught up with other things and it became a little late for the article to be of immediate relevance. So I told myself “let me write this when Rafael Nadal wins the US Open later this year”. I do not know if it was just an educated guess or gut feeling that told me Nadal would win. And win he did. In what style!!The Federer-Nadal rivalry is in my opinion a celebration of two distinct yet pivotal attitudes in life- perfection versus perseverance. And I do not mean to say that each of these gentlemen portray the values respectively. What I mean is that each of them is persevering to make themselves perfect and yet keep finding that the state of perfection that they wanted is not exactly perfect and hence they try some more. They keep raising the bar.
To add a little bit of history to this duel, it could not have come at a better time. Of course, there have been all the great rivalries over the years- Borg vs McEnroe, McEnroe vs Connors, Lendl vs Cash, Becker vs Edberg, Sampras vs Agassi, Chris Evert vs Margaret Court, Navratilova vs Graf and Graf vs Seles.
Seles vs Graf ended in 1993 and even when Seles came back from the stab, she was never the same player again. That’s when Sampras vs Agassi became a rage. It was an intriguing matchup between the greatest serve and volley player of all time vs the greatest baseliner of all time; one of the best servers in the game vs one of the best returners in the game. It produced scintillating tennis for a decade from 1990-1999. I say 1999 here despite the fact that both Agassi and Sampras played on for a couple of years but they were well past their prime. 1999 Wimbledon Final was the best ever tennis we have watched Sampras play. After losing the match in straight sets on the 4th of July, Agassi said “The Man walked on water; I couldn’t do anything”. Sampras did walk on water and never again would play tennis at that level.
For the next 5 years a lot of wanna be Kings tried their best – Marcelo Rios, Carlos Moya, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt and the Clay brigade- Albert Costa, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gustavo Kuerten. They were all very good players but none of them could be termed great. Becker and Edberg had long gone, Ivanisevic went away in glory, Rafter silently disappeared and then Sampras retired in 2002 with the US Open crown defeating Agassi who became a pale shadow of the great baseliner that he was in his prime.
Men’s tennis needed fresh faces and new champions. A young pony-tailed Roger Federer had beaten the mighty Sampras at Wimbledon and won Wimbledon in 2003. He was showing glimpses of his greatness to be. Rafael Nadal was a precocious teenager looking to break into the top 5. Michael Chang had once been nicknamed “Bullet Train” for his relentless returns and the ability to run down every ball. The world was witnessing a similar phenomenon on the rise in Nadal. Nadal won his first ever meeting with Federer at Miami Masters and went on to win the French Open in 2005.
By 2007 the rivalry had become intense but it was one-dimensional: on clay Nadal was invincible, on grass Federer was playing on another plane and on the hard courts they were well matched but Nadal held the upper hand in terms of wins. Nadal looked like the only man capable of beating Federer. So dominant was High Royal Highness.
Without doubt Federer has one of the best game that we have ever seen- his athleticism is good, his serve only second to Sampras I would think, his baseline play is efficient, he is adept at the net, his forehand is devastating and poignant at the same time, his single-handed backhand is silken and finally his attitude and the desire to win unmatched. In my opinion, he is the most aesthetically pleasing all round player of all time, yes even above Sampras. I adored Sampras, he was my first childhood hero- with the typical swagger walk, his tongue sticking out while he served those bombs, those empty trouser pockets, slam dunk overhead volleys, the beautiful 45 degree head bent single handed backhand and the breathtaking running forehand- he was simply awesome. It was the greatest natural talent on display. And then arrived Roger Federer. Nobody would believe what he did on the tennis court. His game looked as though it was a robot playing perfect tennis. It was powerful yet poignant, rich and real. And for 5 years he was simply unstoppable. When you made the draw, you could almost close your eyes and put Roger in the final of the Grand Slam, he made 23 consecutive semifinals, 10 consecutive finals, overtook Pete Sampras for the record and won the elusive French Open as well. He attained unparalleled glory with that 16th Grand Slam. History books would not have even had second thoughts about the greatest ever player of all times and surfaces but one man made that difference. He has brought in the uncertainty and made an argument possible and necessary whether Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time – Rafael Nadal.
When Nadal was winning the French Open year after year and beating Federer on his way, he was still only the “King of Clay” who could have the confidence to beat Federer on any day but yet to attain glory on another surface. He worked his way to two Wimbledon finals in 2006 and 2007 but lost both to Federer and people were almost decided that grass would be his Roger’s Clay. And then came the turnaround. He beat Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon Final in what is considered by many as the greatest tennis match of all time. In pitch darkness on the third Monday of Wimbledon after two rain stoppages and almost 5 hours of impeccable tennis, Nadal conquered the demons of grass.
That was the turnaround he had wanted. He had been No.2 to Roger Federer for a record 160 weeks. No player had been No.2 for so long. He told the world that he was happy to be second to the greatest player of all time. He has always held Roger in a pedestal. But deep inside him, his heart would have cried out in pain and anguish that a man of his ability and effort has to wait so long to be at the pinnacle of his sport. Once the moment came, Nadal pounced on it. 2009 Australian Open was another example. He pummeled Federer for the crown. Destiny’s child had his day. He became No.1 but injuries brought him down. Almost eight months out of tennis, even he might have wondered if his knees would ever let play tennis again. But once again, the workhorse in him came out. He recovered and came back to win his 5th French Open. When he came to Wimbledon 2010, it was evident that he had worked hard on his game and fitness. His volleys were impressive and serve was improving as was his backhand. He sailed through the early rounds and went on to win the championship without losing a set. This was liberation from the tag of “King of Clay”. He was a force to reckon on any surface now. And then the US Open triumph. The world waited in anticipation of the first Federer- Nadal US Open Final. But Djokovic ensured it did not materialize. And I think for good measure. For I could not have borne to see Roger Federer cry again. Roger’s cry after the defeat at Australian Open 2009 signaled his dismal failure in trying to overcome Nadal. And it might have broken the great man down if he had reached the US Open Final and lost again to Nadal which was highly likely given the form Nadal was in.
Just take a look at these stats from the newspapers:
At the age of 24 Nadal is the youngest man to win a Career Grand Slam. He has won 9 Grand Slams while Federer had 6 at the same age. He has an 82% winning record while Federer had 76% at the same age. He has been part of 3 Davis Cup triumphs for Spain while Federer does not have a title. He has won the Olympic Singles Gold while Federer is yet to win in singles although he has the doubles Gold. He has a 14-6 Win Loss record against the No.1 player while Federer at the same age had a 2-3 win loss record. This is a vital stat. To be so consistently successful against a man considered the greatest player of all times is a stupendous achievement. But therein lays an irony. This will go down as the Roger Era when the smiling beloved gentleman called Roger Federer displayed such immaculate skills, finesse and art that was as pleasing as a Rembrandt painting and ruled the tennis world except for one man Rafael Nadal.
And it is no mean achievement. Nadal has worked his soul out for this. Those long hours at the gym to get those superb Rambo style biceps and the stamina was not easy. He slogged for it. And then his game was built with sweat and blood. Every shot was learned and tried and practiced a gazillion times before they became useful to him. Those legs of his have withstood strain that have been the equal of a million earthquakes. And those knees have troubled him like Achilles’ heel. Make no mistake about it. I might sound as though I am exaggerating it here but you’d know what I mean if you have watched Nadal go pounding after every ball and return them as though his life depended on it. Those nerves and muscles and tissues have been stretched to their sheer physical limits. And yet he seems capable of returning just about every ball wherever the opponent dares to hit it. You can send him flying down to both flanks alternately with such speed and yet he runs each of these balls down and returns them. It is his calling. He is called the “Golden Retriever” and how beautifully apt is it? Over the last season he has toned down his biceps, become fitter, leaner and yet stronger. He has worked tremendously on his game. His serve is so powerful that even Federer thinks it is awkward. His backhand has become stronger. His net play is more craftier, his angles are so precise, that forehand has become even more devastating and of course those legs of his are now more eager to run down every ball. He has become such a complete all round player now. This is what has enabled him to be so successful on grass and the hard courts. Just imagine this. Nadal won Wimbledon 2010 without dropping a set and the last man to do so was Bjorn Borg back in 1976. Not even the great Pete Sampras, regarded as the greatest grass court player of all times, could do it while he won 7 Wimbledon Championships. And grass was considered Nadal's potential weak link. Just goes to show how much effort goes into his game day in and day out. And then when critics said he has not got past the semis in the US Open, he came up with a thorough clinical performance to win the US Open. And now people have started arguing that he is the perhaps the greatest player of all times in terms of his sheer performance.
Nadal has never let these claims affect him. He has always been a fascinating person off the court. Who would forget his younger days’ press calls where every sentence of his would end with a “No?” He has charmed everybody with his respect for the game and the opponent. He has never sledged or been reprimanded for misbehavior on the court. He has been a graceful champion. He has transformed beautifully from the boy wonder to the gentleman champ. I think he has had such a good example in Roger Federer- probably the best-spoken champion of all times. Nadal looks up to Federer. They are such good friends and share a rapport that is very rare among such intense rivals. Even in the heydays of the Sampras-Agassi rivalry, Sampras was always the superior player and Agassi had an easy job acknowledging it. But in the Federer-Nadal rivalry, it is Nadal who is the dominant player and he is graceful in conceding that Roger is perhaps the greatest of all time. But that is the irony. Even as he works to become more successful, even as he attempts to win more slams, even as people argue whether he is truly the greatest men’s tennis player or is it Federer, Nadal knows that it will go down as the Roger Era unless he does something special to overtake Federer’s tally of Grand Slams. And it is not going to be easy. We saw the stats for Federer when he was 24 but after that he won just about everything. That will be Nadal’s challenge. To keep his fitness, stamina and desire so that he could go chasing after those big slams will require the same amount of effort that he has put in so far to get here. That will be the challenge of being Rafa in a Roger Era. But if at all any man could do that, it is the Golden Retriever.
Men’s tennis is at such a crucial happy juncture that the two best players in the world are such fabulous charismatic champions and they are still hungry for more. And for Rafa, the climb to destiny begins here. Those bullet legs of his are ready to run the race to retrieve the glory that is truly his. Whatever history may go on to say, Rafael Nadal is a people’s champion. Vamos Rafa! Go Retrieve!
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