Roger Federer earned near unanimous acclaim as the greatest tennis player of all time (GOAT) when he passed Pete Sampras (14) for the most grand slam titles. But Rafael Nadal’s second U.S. Open title, and 13th grand slam championship, gave him one more than Federer at the same age. But this isn’t about what Nadal, 27, may yet do; what Rafael Nadal has already accomplished is also more impressive than what Federer has done. Consider:
Nadal also has won an Olympic Gold Medal and spear-headed Spain to four Davis Cup titles. Federer has zero and zero.
Nadal’s uncle told “The Australian” that “Federer is still the best” but added “it is getting very, very close for Rafa to be level with Roger or more.” He also said: “Is 17 grand slams more important than everything else? Is it more important than Davis Cups? Is it more important than Olympic Games? Olympic Games is big thing thing for our sport. Rafa has won 26 Masters series titles and that is more than Roger.”
Nadal doesn’t have to win 18 grand slam titles to pass Federer. John McEnroe and Mats Wilander just said winning two more to get to 15 would mean Nadal had a better career than Federer.
I say that’s about right.
Just two more and Nadal is CLEARLY better.
But he’s already at least just as good.
Here’s why:
For starters, he has those 26 Masters series titles to Federer’s 21.
He is also 20-1 in Davis Cup matches, with his only loss coming in his first try at age 17.
Those four Davis Cup titles and one Olympic gold medal equal at least one more grand slam title, if not two. Make it two, and Nadal has 15 titles to Federer’s 17.
Nadal has also missed three grand slam events with injuries in the midst of his prime.
In the last four years, he, in order, won the U.S. Open by beating Novak Djokovic in four sets, lost in the finals to Djokovic the year Djokovic won three grand slams and had one of the greatest years of all time, missed the U.S. Open with injury and then won it again this year by beating Djokovic again in four sets. … It’s quite likely that if Nadal had played last year, he, not Andy Murray, would have won the U.S. Open.
But let’s leave that title to Murray.
And we’ll leave this year’s Australian Open to Djokovic, with Nadal missing the first grand slam in a year that he is 60-3 overall and 22-0 on hard courts.
How about we just give Nadal the title in the other tourney he missed completely, Wimbledon in 2009. Nadal won Wimbledon the year before and the year after; he certainly would have been favored in 2009 also, the year Roger Federer won his sixth Wimbledon.
Give that Wimbledon title to Nadal in a theoretically healthy world, and Nadal would have 14 slams to Federer’s 16, and it would be a 16-all tie if you counted the Olympics and Davis Cups as even half as important as the Australian Open.
And now look at HOW they have won their titles.
Federer is 2-6 vs. Nadal in grand slam finals and 15-1 against everyone else.
Nadal is 13-5 in finals — against far tougher competition.
Federer won his first seven grand slam finals until he ran into Nadal. Sorry Roger Federer fans, but it is a heck of a lot easier to win against Mark Philippoussis and Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando González than against Nadal or Djokovic. Federer is only 10-7 in grand slam finals, after that 7-0 start, since meeting Nadal in his first final in 2006, when he was in his absolute prime at age 25.
Now look at who Rafael Nadal has had to beat. After beating Mariano Puerta to win his first grand slam title at age 18, Nadal played Federer in his next seven grand slam finals. Federer fans like to complain that Nadal caught him on the downside of his career. Not so; in the last of these seven matches, Nadal had just turned 23 while Federer was 28.
Nadal, now 27, is having perhaps the greatest season of his career. Federer actually had the age edge in most of their title matches. The only time Nadal and Federer squared off in a grand slam final when Federer wasn’t at the height of his career came two years ago in the French Open, on a surface and a tournament where Federer could never beat Nadal, a record eight-time champ.
Now, after facing Federer in seven of his first eight grand slam finals, he has played Federer (once) and Djokovic (six times) in seven of his LAST eight finals, going 3-3 vs. Djokovic, another all-time great who is the same age as Nadal.
Federer only played Djokovic once in a grand slam final.
If these were race horses, Federer would have been racing against whoever Seattle Slew beat and Nadal would be Affirmed edging an almost equally great Alydar every time.
Nadal is the only tennis player to win at least one grand slam title nine years in a row.
Critics call him the “King of Clay” and make him out to be a one-court specialist, but Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only two players to win two grand slams each on all three surfaces.
It was Rafael Nadal that ended Roger Federer’s record 56-match winning streak on hard courts. And it was Nadal that ended Federer’s record 65-match winning streak on grass courts. And Federer ended Nadal’s record 81-match win streak on clay.
But Nadal has had an even longer rivalry with Djokovic, which has become the longest running rivalry in tennis history.
Tennis commentator Mary Carillo said yesterday that the greatest matches she has ever seen on all three surfaces involved Rafael Nadal: When he beat Federer at Wimbledon in 2008, when he lost last year to Djokovic at the Australian Open and when he beat Djokovic this year at the French Open.
Nadal is also 22-15 lifetime against Djokovic, 21-10 against Federer (21-6 outdoors) and 13-5 vs. Andy Murray. That’s a 56-30 record involving the Big Four of his career.
Federer is 10-21 vs. Nadal, 16-13 vs. Djokovic and 9-11 vs. Murray for a 35-45 record.
Source: rrstar.com (Rafael Nadal passes Roger Federer as greatest tennis player ever by Matt Trowbridge)
its just time to say again Rafa Rocks!!!!!!!!!!
Completely Stupid. can’t believe this guy has a job
hey people never read the article or maybe reading it without understanding lol what roger has?17 gs,21 masters,302 weeks @ #1..while rafa has 13 gs, 26 masters, 4 davis cup and a olympic gold medal..rafa faced novak,andy and roger while roger in his prime only faced the young nadal and who are those guys again?they were not so competent than the players these days.but whatever it is..rafa is 27 and still yeah a long way to go..to what?to pass that 17 slams
I feel secondhand embarrassment for the author of this article. What did I just read?
An opinion with facts which was hard for you to swallow.
“Those four Davis Cup titles and one Olympic gold medal equal at least one more grand slam title, if not two. Make it two, and Nadal has 15 titles to Federer’s 17.”
“It’s quite likely that if Nadal had played last year, he, not Andy Murray, would have won the U.S. Open.
But let’s leave that title to Murray.”
“How about we just give Nadal the title in the other tourney he missed completely, Wimbledon in 2009.”
Come on, man, just try to look nearly serious, please… 🙂
Of course if you intended to make the best parody of some of nowadays euphoric Nadal-fans, it was thegreatest effort, I’ve ever read. 🙂
one of the dumbest articles i’ve ever read in my whole life. i’m 36, been following tennis from ’91, i’m no federer fan by any means, but…
come on, guys, respect the facts.
rafa has been year-end number one only twice, has won the majority of his titles on clay, has less gs titles than sampras, no wtf – he still has a long way to go to catch even sampras, let alone federer.
I am surprised that person like you following tennis since 1991 came up with such a narrow analysis.
first of all, long way to catch sampras ? He is just one behind ! He is probably winning french open next year of not any other title. federer had no competition till 2007(when rafa was just 20), by then he had 13 grand slams & rafa wasn’t at his best yet. of course he won 17 grand slams & ending up number 1 more than anyone else, what’s so great about that. I think for you following tennis just means analyzing numbers.
You said that Rafa leads the H2H against Roger 21-6 excluding Roger’s Indoor wins, right? So, in that way, I must say that Rafa tails the H2H 8-10 excluding his Clay wins over Roger.
How does it look now? =))
“Sorry Roger Federer fans, but it is a heck of a lot easier to win against Mark Philippoussis and Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando González than against Nadal or Djokovic.”
Please, Safin on a fast HC would wipe the floor with Nadal and Djokovic. Another clown who thinks tennis started in 2008. What a clueless bunch of people. And putting him in the same bag as Baghdatis & Philippousis. You don’t know shit about tennis. Safin in that GS that played the final against Federer beat Agassi & Roddick in 5 setters. He also beat Federer there the following year??. He is supposed to be an easy rival?? What an idiot you are, and I’m not even a Federer fan.
ok so roddik & 35 year old agassi are very tough players ? safin, roddik were good but not as good as today’s semifinalists, they were consistently inconsistent, going out of top 10 for many weeks. rafa faced roger in his prime, & is facing novak in his prime, till 2006 roger didn’t face such players who can be put into one of the greatest of all time list(rafa was in his 20s then) & had won like 10 grand slams by then.
East or west Roger is the best. 17 GS, 237 consecutive weeks at top overall 302 weeks, reached consecutive 23 SF and 36 QFs in Grand slams, 6 WTF title nadal 0. Roger has many records that nadal will never break. stop comparing the legend with rafa. rafa has a great year but it doesn’t mean that he is the greatest. stop writting article like this, Roger has a bad year but it doesn’t mean that Rafa the better then him. Roger is the Greatest Player in the history of Tenisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. #legend
Rafa you’re the best and your accomplishment prove it ,big champs everytime.
RAFA ,,,, THE GOAT <3
I LiKE IT!!! It doesn’t make any difference to me (Rafa is and will ALWAYS be TOP!) but I hope this will shut up all the ignorant people around!!! VAAAMOOOSSS RAAAFAAA, more and more and MORE……!!!!!!!!!!!
there are people who can’t accept the fact…some of rf’s fans
I’m a Nadal fan.
Nadal must win the Masters Cup to be the best of the best.
It is the only big title he lacks.
The best – no doubt about it and also can I see that us open again many thanks!
Rafa is the best no question about that!
I have translated this to spanish if you want share it with non-english readers. Contact me if you want me to send it to you 😀
Already I see nadal as my best of all time, I don’t care how many grand slam roger has ahead of him but what rafa at his age has accomplished is much more important than those grand slam tittles. What a great champ he is. Love you rafa, you’re my best.
Absolutely the best, no doubts he’s a great champion. ……..the champ is here and the champ is rafa.
absosolutely the best, what a champ!!!!!!
do you have a replay of Nadal’s Djokovic US Final tnx …
no Raza that’s false Rafa is the best, Roger is a great Champion but the stats show that Rafa has surpassed him, so there may come a time when another Tennis player will beat Rafas record, we must all face the facts Rafa is the champ now and he is so much fun to watch the most exciteing player ever.