Placing Nadal in history books

As Rafael Nadal hit his bread and butter shot wide of the line against Fabio Fognini, it marked the end of a streak, an end of an era of unprecedented dominance. For the first time since 2005, the Spaniard is going to end the year without any Grand Slam title to his name.

A lot was riding on the American hardcourt swing for Rafa. Having failed to defend his fortress in Paris and succumbing to unusual defeats, the tennis world hoped for a miraculous revival of this legend.

Many of us felt that Nadal had a slam or two left in him. Well, atleast till Saturday morning. But, that feeling has been completely wiped out. A player who was known for his mental strength, known to come back from a two set deficit with relative ease, gave up his two set advantage in a pretty mediocre manner.

Does he still possess the game to bite another major trophy or, will the Spaniard end his career with 14 in his bag? The last of which came at Roland Garros last year.

And, if he does remain at this number, where does he rank amidst legends?
It’s a bit premature to carry this debate, considering Rafa and his modern rivals are still contesting for titles. But, unlike Rafa, Federer and Djokovic have a realistic chance to win one!

Today, you won’t find many who’d bet on Nadal to go past Federer’s 17.A couple of years ago, a lot of people would have placed their bet on Nadal to surpass Federer’s achievements. Thinking of it in the present situation, this feat seems impossible. Even beating Sampras may be too optimistic as Novak is primed to win at Roland Garros next year- the only place where you could have hoped for a Rafa win.

The great Rod Laver and Roger Federer must be placed ahead of Nadal on your greatest players list (if you decide to compile one, needless to say- comparing just the men). The trickiest part comes when you start comparing Pete and Nadal; one, who never completed his career Slam and the other who stood at that altar at the age of 24.

Sampras dominated the world for a far longer time, proving his authority on grass and the cements of NYC, being at the top for close to 300 weeks. Rafa, falls short at this, not even half way to Pete’s number. But then, these numbers pretty much tumble to the fact that Sampras never won the ultimate clay prize.

Nadal probably edges this one to land ahead of Sampras. ( Third on your list? )

But what about Novak Djokovic? He has just started his streak of records, with 9 majors and probably a tenth this Sunday. Novak can easily topple Rafa’s place in history books,or, maybe even Federer’s  (a bit unrealistic however).

So, that pretty much boils down to Nadal being at the third spot. With Djokovic knocking at the door, he may slip down a spot in the future and only a miracle would see him jump over Federer.