After Rafael Nadal’s stupendous comeback in the Australian Open final on Sunday night, it is he — not Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer — who is the first man to win 21 grand slam singles titles.
Fairly or unfairly, it is the tennis record that matters most these days. Though Sunday’s outcome hardly ends the debate about who is the greatest men’s player of all time (don’t forget Rod Laver), there is no doubt that Nadal is the greatest men’s clay-court player of all time.
The French Open, which is played on red clay in Paris, begins on May 22. Nadal has won it 13 times, dominating as no man has dominated any major tennis tournament.
“Look, if Novak does return, I think we’re talking about Rafa and Novak going into the French as the co-favourites,” said Darren Cahill, the ESPN analyst and leading coach.
Djokovic is entered and is expected to play in the ATP tournament in Dubai that begins on February 21.
If Djokovic heads to Dubai, that will be a big hint that he is eager to compete, and a fired-up Djokovic will be a dangerous Djokovic given the frustration and humiliation he experienced in Australia.
“I think Novak uses this to fuel the fire he’s always played with,” Cahill said.
Nadal’s victory could open up new perspectives for Djokovic and Federer, who is 40 but training for the possibility of returning later this year. It is difficult to see Federer as a title favourite anywhere, but why not as a factor on grass or hardcourts?
“I think what Rafa did can put a little fuel in Roger’s tank, too,” Cahill said. “Roger could say, ‘If Rafa is out there still doing it, why can’t I do it?’ So, I think this energises the Big Three.”
His five-hour-and-24-minute triumph over Medvedev was one of Nadal’s trademark victories, up there with his defeat of Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final that is on every shortlist of the greatest matches.
“Nadal’s tennis I.Q. is off the charts,” his coach, Carlos Moyá, told L’Équipe. When an increasingly weary Medvedev began trying to shorten points with drop shots, the message was not lost on Nadal.
“I think that gave Rafa a lot of energy,” Cahill said. “Just keep pushing. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Well, we know now, and it was extraordinary.
(New York Times News Service)