Is Rafael Nadal the greatest tennis player ever?

Rafael Nadal

The modern era of men’s tennis is surrounded by one question: Who is the greatest player of all time? Is it Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal? Playing in his ninth Roland Garros final in ten years, Nadal outplayed Novak Djokovic to win his ninth Grand Slam title on clay, his fourteenth overall, denying Djokovic the opportunity to complete his career slam.

Both players had played each other 41 times before the final, but it was Nadal, who has been dominating their clay court rivalry. Djokovic, on the other hand had just defeated Nadal in the Rome finals, and was in vicious form at the French Open.

Djokovic dominated the first set and won it comfortably 6-3. But Nadal managed to keep his cool and fought back in the second set. Even though Djokovic broke Nadal again in the second set, Nadal managed to recover and took the set 7-5. After winning the second set, there was no looking back for Nadal. He outplayed Djokovic from the start of the third set, taking an early 3-0 lead. Nadal won third set 6-2.

When Djokovic served a double fault in the tenth game of the fourth set, Nadal created history . He equalled Pete Sampras’ record of 14 grand slam titles. Nadal has now won atleast one Grand Slam for ten consecutive years, the only player in the modern era to do so. He is now just three slams behind Roger Federer’s tally of 17 titles.

It is not the number of titles that decide the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T). It is ability to play on any surface, win over any opposition, taking control of opponents’ game, maintaining their calm that decide the greatest player.