What is ailing Rafael Nadal the most: his game or his body?
Every diehard Rafael Nadal fan would admit that the last few years (barring the 2 weeks at Roland Garros) have been a disappointing period for him. The Spaniard, who has suffered injuries at regular intervals, bowed out from the hallowed turf at Wimbledon, once again this year, without showing his real capabilities as a player, losing out to Dustin Brown of Germany in 4 sets in the second round at Wimbledon this year.
Worryingly, it was the 29-year-old Mallorcan’s 4th straight loss inside the quarterfinal stage of the competition and that too, to a player ranked 100th or more in the world.
So what have caused these upsets? Why is Nadal losing to opponents whom he should beat, with little discomfort at SW19?
In the 2012 edition of Wimbledon, Nadal overcame a tricky opening round contest against Thomas Bellucci of Brazil to face an unknown Czech Republican, who went by the name of Lukas Rosol. Expectedly, and unsurprisingly as well, few dared to put their money on this 27-year-old and backed Nadal to progress through with not much difficulty.
However, what followed in the course of next few hours, astonished not just Nadal fans, but supporters across the globe, as the big-serving Rosol caused a massive upset by defeating the Spaniard in 5 sets to throw open the competition, completely.
One of the features of Czech Republican’s performance was the manner in which he first caught his opponent off-guard by firing ace-after-ace and then didn’t let him breathe freely, by serving big in his second serve as well.
Move over 12 months later to the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. Nadal enters on a high, after having won a remarkable 8th French Open title and is up against another unknown commodity in Steve Darcis of Belgium, a player ranked 135th in the world, at the time, in the opening round
There was no way that Nadal was going to get eliminated by a player ranked so higher than him for a second straight year or was there? As it turned out after close to 4 hrs, Darcis had knocked the Spaniard out in 4 sets and ended his 22-match winning streak.
The 2014 Wimbledon saw Nadal, once failing to reach the quarterfinal stage, as he lost to the 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios of Australia in the fourth round and once again, this year, the 14-time Grand Slam champion lost to the spirited, but largely unknown Dustin Brown of Germany in the second round.
Have Rafa’s troublesome knees taken away his biggest strength?
Now, everyone knows that Nadal has endured a difficult time, with respect to his injuries, particularly the knee, which even forced him to opt out of competing and defending his Olympic Gold at the London Olympics in 2012.
But even if Nadal admits that his knees are in good condition and refuses to blame them for his losses, it is becoming increasingly visible that those dodgy knees are taking away what have probably been the most crucial part of his game for a very long time: His incredible, sometimes unreal, Court Coverage.
People associate Roger Federer with his flowing backhand and his ability to make the game look extremely sweat-free. With Novak Djokovic, the first thing that comes to mind are his forehand winners, which confuse the opponents as to which side they need to turn to return the stroke and leave them stranded in the middle.
With Nadal, it has always been his ability to play incredible shots, from unusual angles on the court, by running from corner-to-corner and catch his opponent by surprise.
Because of his knee issues, that characteristic of his game seems to be diminishing and we are seeing big servers like Rosol and Brown, exploit that aspect of his play and peg him back.
The fine competitor that he is, Nadal has always credited his opponent for being the better player on the day, on each of the 4 occasions but deep within him, he probably also knows that unless he can find a relevant solution to his knee problems that would ensure that he remains match-fit for a longer period of time, during the course of the year, he would continue to struggle in tournaments and his quest for a Grand Slam will continue to fall short.
The knees though have been a cause for injuries for many players in the past. Ryan Harris, the Australian fast bowler, retired from the game because he just couldn't continue playing the game on just his left knee.
On the morning of the crucial Champions Trophy match against Australia in 2006, Yuvraj Singh injured his knee severely while playing kho-kho and had to opt out from playing. That meant that India had bring in a raw S Sreesanth in place of him and eventually they lost the match and bowed out of the tournament. He is known to wear a knee brace regularly in order to protect from hurting that area again.
Robin Van Persie, the star footballer from Netherlands, has also had to sit out of action because of knee injuries.
So while there have been many such cases of knees affecting a player, for Rafael Nadal’s fans and for the game of tennis, in general, lets just hope that he isn't forced to end his career prematurely because of the knee and he still has the fire in him to win more Grand Slams.