Nadal Men’s Tennis G.O.A.T

By Andrew Rosario

 

Because of the Covid19 Pandemic, Rafael Nadal decided to pass on playing at the U.S. Open in New York City. The French Open, which normally takes place in late May, was moved to late September. The Men’s Final took place this past Sunday between Rafael Nadal and Novack Djokovic. The history between the two have been epic. It was the 9th time they would face each other at Roland Garros with Nadal winning 7 of the 8 times previously. 3 times in Queens with Nadal winning twice. 16 overall Grand Slam matches with Nadal winning 10 of them. Make it 13 wins on the clay court after Nadal crushed Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 for his 17 victory over the Joker. The win also tied him with Roger Federer for most Grand Slam wins at 20. Rafa, against Roger has a 24-16 head to head record. 10-4 in Grand Slams and an astonishing 6-0 record at the French Open against Federer. 

 

When all is said and done, Rafael Nadal will go down as the “Greatest of all Time” (G.O.A.T) in men’s tennis. Right from the start, Nadal sent a message. He won the first 7 matches and had Djokovic commit an ungodly 52 unforced errors en-route to his 100th win at the famed French court. 

 

 

 

 

At age 34, Rafael Nadal has had to deal with injuries over the years but has overcome them throughout his phenomenal career. Going back to 2006, injuries caused him to miss five major tournaments. Knee and wrist injuries took its toll. But in 2011 he had a fluke injury at a Japanese restaurant when he went to pick up a plate that scalded his fingers. 

Fortunately, it was not his serving hand.

 

Despite all of his health issues, Nadal continued to be on the top of Men’s tennis. When all is said and done, there is no question who will go down as the greatest player in men’s tennis.