Watching Nadal over the years has given me immense satisfaction,more so for his never say die attitude and overall personality on the court.With those bulging biceps,it was always hard to think what lay ahead of him in the future but am glad he fulfilled his immense talent and also the future looks bright.All the best Rafa..humility personified..love always
It will be now known how difficult it is win a GS once a athlete is out of his prime... Federer tried his best and could win only 1 GS after turning 29.. but made it to a few finals and lost.... now I can imagine the same fate for Nadal who is now 30 and Djokovic, 29. Nadal only chance might be at the FO, and he might probably retire with 15 GS titles.
Now with Del Potro back, it only gets interesting and it sure did during the Olympics, where he defeated Djoko in the 1R and Nadal in the semis... I predict Federer's record of 17 GS titles will not be beaten by any of the current crop of players.
Re: Nadal and Djokovic starting to fade
by Michael on Sep 21, 2016 10:10 PM
But I must add, in most of my predictions I eat massive amounts of crow and end up humiliated.
A very beautifully written article that brought a lump to my throat. Because I shared the same banter with my mom too and she too is gone. In fact my mom started taking an interest in tennis only because she wanted to watch it with me. Otherwise she did not know anything about the game. And like all caring moms, she went out of her way to make an effort to learn about the finer points of the sport and its players. Strangely, my mom was a bigger fan of Nadal than me. I would and will always have Federer as my number 1 player, but my mom always had a soft spot for Nadal. Nadaal...Nadaal...she would go and try her best to watch the game with me in front of the TV set.
My mom was completely blind. She 'watched' just for me. Love you always mom.
Like the author, I am ardent fan of Nadal since 2005. I always used to feel that a victory of Nadal in any match is indeed a victory for the game of tennis! Many people who love tennis share this feeling. Nadal is an amazing crowd puller who sways his fans with rare charisma. He is very modest despite his record achievements and is a great champion of the game. He has the potential in him to win more grand slam titles than hios present number 14 and surpass Federer's tally of 17
Re: I am an ardent fan of Nadal!
by Michael on Sep 21, 2016 04:04 PM
Nadal was mainly a clay court specialist.... but he happened to win a few grand slams in other courts also. He has won only 1 GS in Aus Open, 2 in USO, and 2 in wimbledon. In all these GS, Federer has more titles and so does Djokovic.
Nadal's overall records are skewed because of his exploits on the clay courts. He can be regarded as the greatest clay court player of all time.... thats all... but the G.O.A.T in tennis is Federer. Djokovic is the likely heir to that throne.... Nadal will never be able to beat Federer's 17 GS titles... because Nadal is out of his prime and his only chance is at the next French open, if he gets lucky enough with the draw.
