Why Rafael Nadal will not end up as the all-time Grand Slam leader
Can Rafa beat Federer’s record?Roger Federer has outclassed almost everyone on the tennis court through his career, but if there is one name that makes the hair on his and his fans’ necks stand up, it is none other than Rafael Nadal.Nadal has dominated Federer on almost every surface (except for grass, and even that is close!) and has an immense edge over the Swiss Maestro whenever he plays him. That is clearly seen from their head to head where Nadal leads Federer 23-10.At one point of time, people said that Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slams would not be surpassed, but that was quite easily broken by Federer, and now Nadal has equalled it too, winning his 14th at Roland Garros this year. And when Federer surpassed Sampras’s record, people thought that no one would surpass his record either. But Nadal is just three Slams from equalling Federer’s record of 17 Grand Slams.So the big question is, will he be able to do it? The answer to this question, according to me, is, ‘no’, and here are my reasons for that:
#1 Injuries
Unlike Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, Nadal has a host of health issues to deal with, due to which he has missed four Grand Slams since 2006, and two in the past two years. His knees have been a major problem for him right since the beginning of his career. Tendonitis has been a recurring injury for Nadal; it was the cause of three out of those four Grand Slam misses.
Nadal’s back and wrist have been his latest causes of worry, the latter of which made him pull out of the US Open which happened just a month ago.
Nadal’s style of playing the game is perhaps the biggest reason for his injury problems. He plays a high-octane, no-inch-surrendered brand of tennis that and by doing so, he is destroying his body. To have an injury-free next few years, Nadal might have to adjust his style of play, which is extremely difficult for any player to do, of course. But even if he does adjusts his style of play, winning another Grand Slam would be easier said than done for him.
Nadal is turning 29 next year, and it obviously gets tougher to win a Slam as a player grows older. He has already won 14 Slams at the age of 28, and this is the reason why so many people say that Nadal will surpass Federer’s record. But let me remind you that Roger Federer was 28 when he won his 14th Slam and did not have any injury problems. Still, it took him five years to win three more Slams. This just shows that age is a major factor when it comes to winning at the big stage, and with Nadal’s recurring injuries, it would likely be even harder for him than it was for the Swiss. All these injury problems might even force the Spaniard to consider early retirement.