Winning the 21st & 22nd Grand Slam titles were Rafael Nadal's two greatest accomplishments at this stage of his career: Pam Shriver

As stupendous a career as Rafael Nadal has had till now, this is the first time that he has been able to win both the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the same year. The 22-time Grand Slam winner begins his pursuit of a Calendar Slam on Tuesday against Argentina's Francisco Cerúndolo at Wimbledon.

There's another tennis great who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, but in the doubles category — Pam Shriver. During a recent interview, the former American player said that she wouldn't have given Rafael Nadal even a sliver of a chance to achieve a Calendar Slam a year ago, but that it could be a possibility now.

"12 months ago, I would have said, "Not a chance in the world," but now he’s two legs up, had the foot procedure after the French Open and he’s looking good. He doesn’t start as my favorite to win Wimbledon, but he’s in my top two or three picks. It’s possible that he can go into the US Open like Djokovic last year and already be three legs up," Shriver said.

Shriver continued to praise the 36-year-old, claiming that his 21st Grand Slam title in Australia and the 22nd at Roland Garros were two of Nadal's greatest achievements, given everything that was happening with his foot.

"It’s a really intriguing part of this year’s Wimbledon, if he can get through to the semis and into the final, the excitement will really build. What he’s shown us by winning his 21st Grand Slam in Australia and the 22nd in France and everything he told us afterward about the foot, I think they were his two greatest accomplishments at this stage of his career. It could be one of those magical runs," Shriver added.

Rafael Nadal has faced a number of uphill tasks in the last year. Following his semifinal defeat against Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open, the Spaniard was sidelined for six months due to a long-term recurring foot injury, forcing him to miss Wimbledon, the Olympics, and the US Open.

After getting rid of his crutches in September and recovering from COVID-19 in December, the Spaniard reached Australia. Nadal produced his best-ever start to the season, winning 20 matches on the trot, including titles at the 2022 Australian Open, Melbourne Summer set and Mexican Open. He extended his Major title lead over Roger Federer and Djokovic to 2 Slams after clinching his 14th French Open title.

"Rafael Nadal has learned how to adapt his game to play on grass & Alcaraz has even more weapons for the surface" - Pam Shriver

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal after the 2022 Indian Wells semifinal.

Carlos Alcaraz, the fifth seed at Wimbledon, has already done wonders this year by winning four titles, including the Miami and Madrid Masters. The young Spaniard broke through to the top-10 after winning the title at Barcelona. Pam Shriver was very impressed with the 19-year-old, putting him above Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud amongst the youngsters.

"Alcaraz is a pretty big unknown on grass. He’s the new star of 2022, just the way he played at the end of the hard court season and throughout the clay season. He looks levels ahead of the likes of Sinner and Ruud. I know Ruud made the final at the French Open, but he had the favorable side of the draw. Fair play to him for that, but looking at what Alcaraz did from Indian Wells to Madrid, the way he played through the whole circuit was unbelievable," Shriver said.

Shriver stated that although the charismatic Alcaraz is yet to prove his mettle on grass, he has all the weapons to become a fantastic player on the surface.

"We’ll see how he makes the transition. Rafael Nadal has learned how to adapt his game to play on grass and Alcaraz has even more weapons for the surface. He has a bigger serve, harder shots and his movement is impeccable. I can’t see any reason why he can’t be very good on grass."

"Alcaraz likes the volley too, but he could come up against someone with more experience on these faster courts, like a Denis Kudla, who could make it really awkward for him. Wimbledon crowds will take to him, though. He has charisma seeping out of everything," said Shriver.