Rafael Nadal Competing Against History After 9th French Open Title

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at Internationaled.org

Published: June 8, 2014

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He is playing against history now, against the men who preceded him, against Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, against Pete Sampras and certainly Roger Federer. And Rafael Nadal, French Open champion once more, also is playing against himself.

Each match and each tournament, especially any of the four Grand Slams, is a measuring stick, an evaluation of where he ranks among the great ones, and there have been many in the decades stretching back more than a century.

He is beyond compare in the French Open, on the clay at Stade Roland Garros, where his 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Novak Djokovic on Sunday was his ninth there overall and fifth in a row.

Imagine, 66 wins in 67 matches for his French Open career. Wow is used too often in sports. Yet, what other word does justice to the record. Wow!



Perhaps Nadal is beyond compare anywhere at any time, although that judgment, as so many in sports, is subjective. Could Muhammad Ali defeat Rocky Marciano? Could Michael Jordan score against Bill Russell? Could Rafael Nadal beat Bill Tilden? Or Don Budge? Or Rod Laver?

Andre Agassi, as Nadal, Federer and four others, a winner of each of the Slams, said recently Nadal is the best ever. It's only an opinion, but it's a very legitimate one from a very legitimate source.

Eras are different. Equipment is different. Court conditions are different, Wimbledon having slowed the grass so a clay-court specialist as Nadal—the King of Clay—could adapt and triumph on the lawns of the All England Club.

Brilliance, however, is forever.

Nadal now has 14 Slams, the same as Sampras, who never won the French. The leader is Federer with 17. Nadal just turned 28 years old. If he doesn’t have another serious injury, Rafa presumably will win two or three more Slams.

But even if he doesn’t, the case can me made Nadal, arguably, is the best ever. Tha...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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