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| The Holy Trinity - Nadal, Federer & Djokovic |
Rock-Paper-Scissors
Rivalries maketh the sport. The world has seen many famous ones - Senna & Prost. Ali & Frazier. Sampras & Agassi. The list goes on... But, for the first time in tennis history, we are seeing a truel as opposed to a duel. Can three champions be more contrasting in style and yet dominate the better half of a decade by cementing the top 3 rankings between them? In the last 8 years, only one mortal has broken the hegemony of the trio - Del Potro won the US Open in 2009 and by doing so became the first player to defeat Nadal & Federer in back-to-back matches.
The Relentless, Undisputed King of Clay
Here's the startling revelation - The one who made all this possible was Nadal. He pushed Federer & Djokovic to a whole new level they didn't know existed before - mentally & physically. It takes a super-human effort to down Nadal in a Grand Slam final - so much that at one point, Roger trained with the left-handed former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević to find a way to defeat Rafa on clay... and still failed.
Nadal - The Phenom - who shot to fame as a 14-year old by beating Pat Cash in an exhibition match, has an equal stake in being called one of the greatest players of his generation. Like the Spartans, he never surrenders. He never lets the thought of defeat ever get into his mind - even if he is trailing by two sets and a break down. He's the fighter who battles on valiantly till the very last point.
Every time Federer or Djokovic met Nadal, they produced some of the most memorable and scintillating matches in the open era - year after year! This is not to undermine the matches between Djokovic & Federer, just that it lacks the intensity when they are up against Nadal. And it is still a budding rivalry and perhaps blossoming a bit too late? (Federer is already in his 30's and Wikipedia doesn't yet have a topic on it!).
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| The Clone Wars |
To prove a point, consider a hypothetical situation where Federer and Djokovic had to play against their own clones - Fedex vs. Fedex-clone & Djoko vs. Djoko-clone. We can safely assume that there had be at least 50% more winners in that match as compared to matches against Nadal. That is to say, if it is a point against Rafa, then it is a point against any other player in the world. The corollary, however, doesn't hold good.
Rafa's ability to not just chase down any shot, but to return it in a way to force the other player to retreat, or concede the advantage in that rally, is just mind blowing! He doesn't return to keep the rally alive, he returns it to with the singular aim of gaining control of that point, if not, to win it. Doing that consistently, makes his opponents go into disbelief. They try harder to win each point, making them commit more unforced errors (Federer makes mistakes he wouldn't make against anyone else except Nadal). The statistics prove this (refer matchstat.com - here's one & another). Nadal almost always has had considerably fewer winners & unforced errors - particularly against Federer. And it is a given that if a rally extends beyond 8 or 9 shots, you can bet your money on Nadal and you'll make a handsome profit at the end of the match. The same holds good for 5 setters.
Rafa's ability to not just chase down any shot, but to return it in a way to force the other player to retreat, or concede the advantage in that rally, is just mind blowing! He doesn't return to keep the rally alive, he returns it to with the singular aim of gaining control of that point, if not, to win it. Doing that consistently, makes his opponents go into disbelief. They try harder to win each point, making them commit more unforced errors (Federer makes mistakes he wouldn't make against anyone else except Nadal). The statistics prove this (refer matchstat.com - here's one & another). Nadal almost always has had considerably fewer winners & unforced errors - particularly against Federer. And it is a given that if a rally extends beyond 8 or 9 shots, you can bet your money on Nadal and you'll make a handsome profit at the end of the match. The same holds good for 5 setters.
(One can only wonder how long those rallies had last if the inexhaustible powerhouse that is Nadal, were to play against his own clone)
Divine.
In one word, that is how I'd describe the current state of Men's Tennis. And Rafael Nadal is the prime reason for tennis to reach this level. He is the supreme athlete. And together with Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic, complete the Holy Trinity of Tennis.
(No disrespect to Andy Murray, an insanely gifted player, is like the fourth musketeer. Perhaps , he needs a while longer to raise his game, just as Djokovic did in 2011, to be included into what would then become a quartet of great champions in the same era. But until then, this triumvirate shall rule tennis for the foreseeable future.)
(No disrespect to Andy Murray, an insanely gifted player, is like the fourth musketeer. Perhaps , he needs a while longer to raise his game, just as Djokovic did in 2011, to be included into what would then become a quartet of great champions in the same era. But until then, this triumvirate shall rule tennis for the foreseeable future.)
Praveen Rajaretnam
Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright of the images. No infringement of copyright was intended and the images are not being used for commercial purposes. The original photographs were edited purely for non-commercial reasons.
