Roger Federer Is Closing In On Sampras' Record
Eventually, Rafael Nadal Will be Approaching Federer's Mark
May 21, 2009
There is no doubt that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the two greatest players of this generation. When all is said and done, though, will either of them be considered the greatest of all time?
Roger Federer's Resume and Outlook
Roger Federer's coming out party was at the 2003 Wimbledon, which was the first Grand Slam he ever won. He has been a dominant tennis player ever since. He has won a total of 58 titles in his career and 13 grand slams. He has won 5 Wimbledons, 5 U.S. Opens, and 3 Australian Opens. He seems to play his best in big matches and on the biggest points, unless he is facing Nadal. He is a great all-around player and has been compared to an artist because of how graceful he is on the court. As he has amassed Grand Slam after Grand Slam and closed in on Sampras' record, he has entered the discussion of the greatest tennis players ever. No less a tennis authority than John McEnroe has called him the greatest tennis player he has ever seen. He has set the bar so high that last year, in which he reached the semifinals at the Australian, the finals at the French and Wimbledon and won the U.S. Open, was considered a bad year. Talk of his demise has been greatly exaggerated, as he is still a great player who appears to have enough left in the tank to break Sampras' Grand Slam record. There just happens to be a guy right now who is better than him and his name is Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal's Resume and Outlook
Rafael Nadal burst onto the national scene when he won the 2005 French Open, his first of 6 Grand Slam titles. He would win three more French Opens, a Wimbledon, and an Australian Open. In all he has won 32 titles. He is known for his great fitness and for being one of the most relentless competitors on the Tour. The knock on him early in his career was that he was a clay court specialist, but in recent years, he has proven that he can win on all surfaces. He has even taken the #1 ranking away from Roger Federer. His defining win came at the 2008 Wimbledon. In an epic 5 set match, that many called the greatest match ever, he wrestled the crown away from Federer. That was his first Grand Slam that wasn't the French Open and gave him the confidence that he can win slams on all surfaces. Nadal has reached 6 Grand Slam titles at the tender young age of 22. To put that in perspective, when Federer was Nadal's age he only had two. It is time to take a closer look at the Nadal-Federer rivalry.
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is 13-7 against Roger Federer lifetime, including 5-2 in Grand Slam finals. Their first grand slam meeting actually came in the 2005 French Open Semis, where Nadal proved that he was ready for the big time at defeated Federer. He has gone on to beat Roger in the '06, '07, and ,08 French Open finals. The '06 and '07 finals were close, but Nadal embarassed Federer in the '08 final. That was a sign of things to come as about a month later, Nadal, after losing to Federer in two straight Wimbledon finals, finally broke through on the grass and beat Federer in a classic match. Nadal had ripped the torch out of Federer's hands and proclaimed himself the best player in the world, something that would be official a short time later. The two would square off again at this year's Australian Open final. In Federer's first attempt to tie the Grand Slam record, he fell short, once again losing to Nadal in 5 sets. Nadal seems to be in Federer's head. For some reason, Federer does not have the same swagger on the court against Nadal that he has against everybody else. Federer will get another chance to tie the record and prove himself against Nadal at this year's French Open.
2009 French Open Preview
As a tennis fan, you would like to say that the French Open this year is going to be a compelling and exciting two weeks of tennis. The reality, though, is that the final is pretty much a foregone conclusion. They might as well just skip ahead to Sunday June 7 right now because if Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are not playing that day in the final, it will be a huge shock. Nadal has won four straight and will be a big favorite to win his seventh Grand Slam, which will put him halfway to Sampras' record and he is just now entering his prime. Federer, meanwhile, enters the French Open with a lot of confidence, having beaten Nadal last week on clay in the finals of the Madrid Open, in Nadal's home country. It should be another classic final and if Federer can pull off the upset, Sampras will have company at the top.
The Grand Slam Record
Even if Federer comes up short at the French Open, he is a strong bet to tie the record this year, whether it be at Wimbledon, which he has won five of the last six years, or at the U.S. Open, which he has won five years in a row. By the end of 2010, the record should be all his own, and he will likely be widely recognized as the greatest tennis player ever. By the end of 2015, though, at the rate that Nadal is going, if he stays healthy, there is an excellent chance that Nadal will break the record that Federer establishes. Then it will be Nadal who experts will start calling the greatest of all time.
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