>Nadal, Federer And History

>My how the tides have changed. Rafael Nadal asserted himself in 2008 over the entire ATP field after being the only real challenger to the reign of Roger Federer, finally emerging from behind the Swiss star after years in the number two spot. However it was a momentum Nadal’s body could not sustain after battling Fernando Verdasco to the death for a spot in the 2009 Australian Open, where he claimed his first hard court Grand Slam, claiming one slam on all surfaces before the man he beat, Federer. After the Australian Rafa’s body and life spiralled out of control. 

In Rotterdam he limped to the finish line against eventual winner Andy Murray. After a brief stint off to rest his legs the wheels really came of the Nadal bandwagon. While everyone was busy focusing on Roger Federer’s ‘decline’ after he smashed a racquet on the US hard courts, Rafa was struggling in Miami to close out matches, his focus patchy as he tried to deal with the dissolution of his parents marriage and the worsening state of his knees. Despite not moving as well as he can when he stepped on to the European clay courts Rafa cleaned up, winning Monte Carlo and Barcelona for the fifth consecutive time, Rome for the fourth time in five years and then making a strong start in Madrid. After his Madrid final loss, where the Spanish star looked jaded, people assumed he would once again reign in Paris. But it was not meant to be.


Everyone remembers Roland Garros 2009. Nadal was beaten for the first time ever in Paris by Robin Soderling, Federer who had been struggling in his matches battled his way to the final, knowing this was his best chance ever, finally claiming the one Slam that had eluded him. With Nadal out of the picture it was like the early years of Federer’s dominance – there was no one to really challenge him again. Federer won the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, claiming a record breaking 15th Grand Slam in the process, which he added to again this year at the Australian Open.


As we stand, waiting at the gaits of Wimbledon for the mens singles finals, Rafael Nadal stands awaiting history. If he beats Tomas Berdych he will have claimed his 8th Grand Slam, second Wimbledon title and complete his second Roland Garros-Wimbledon double all while reclaiming his place at the top of the men’s rankings, stopping Federer from surpassing Pete Sampras all-time record of weeks at number one.


If he wins Nadal will add 2000 points to his tally, further separating him from Federer and will be reproducing his incredible 2008 results – and people were talking about his career being all but over. Now instead of talking about the demise of Nadal people are talking about the demise of Federer, widly thought to be the ‘greatest of all time’ – BUT there is a significant difference between the two champions (besides statistics). 

When Nadal lost in Roland Garros in 2009 he was gracious in defeat, refusing to discuss his injuries, not wanting to distract from his opponents well earnt victory. The other day we saw that Federer, on the other hand, does not handle defeat particularly well, blaming injuries and saying he was unlucky and he hasn’t had much luck lately – a big statement from a man who almost always gets a good draw and has had more luck and good fortune in one year (during any time in his career) than most people have in a life time.


It is worth noting this is not the first time Federer has struggled to deal with the prospect that his reign may be over thanks to the man from Spain. Think of the sobbing mess we saw at the Australian Open in 2009.
So here we are, looking at almost the exact opposite of what happened last year, wondering if Berdych can do what Roddick couldn’t… Win Wimbledon.


Here are soome of the differences between the two men who have dominated the top two spots in the rankings, and Grand Slams, for the last five years.