For the better part of two weeks in New York, the U.S. Open was all about Rafael Nadal becoming just the seventh player to complete a career Grand Slam. To get there, the hope was he’d have to overcome another legendary championship showdown against Roger Federer.
But then Federer got bounced in the semifinals, and all logic in the tennis universe was apparently dislodged.
Even if Federer’s loss was another ever-so-small step toward his inevitable retreat from unbeatable territory, the conversation awkwardly turned toward Nadal’s assault on Federer’s record of 16 majors before he had even finished off Novak Djokovic in the final.
Hold on just a sec.
Nadal, who is merely 24 years old, now has nine Grand Slam titles to his name. But that’s barely halfway to Federer, who is still just 29, and possesses a far more silky, classical music-style game that will be sustainable for years to come. Don’t be surprised to see a 30-something Federer poach a couple more Australian Open or Wimbledon titles.
Nadal, on the other had, plays with so much force, determination and effort on every point, his biggest challenge may be avoiding a pattern of injury — knee issues already cost him at this year’s Australian Open and significant time in 2009. Staying healthy will be as much of a challenge as winning two or more majors every year.
Even if Nadal can keep that pace — which is more likely than taking home three majors per year, like he’s done in 2010 — it’ll be at least two more years before the Spaniard gets to three-quarters of Federer’s haul. Until he gets there, any talk about him overtaking the Swiss standard bearer is premature.
