Can Rafa Nadal win the Australian Open 2015?

Rafa Nadal produced one of his typical fighting performances in the second round at the Australian Open, coming back from two sets to one behind to win his match. His fans must have breathed a sigh of relief and would be hoping now for better things for Nadal, especially considering his draw henceforth.

The big question though is: Can Nadal win the Australian Open 2015?

For any other player in similar circumstances, we would not be even having this conversation. Nadal has had a horrid last six months when he has struggled with multiple injuries to his back and wrist and played less than 10 matches. He has lost to much lower ranked players and seemed vulnerable on the court.

However Nadal has himself expressed a desire to win a second Australian Open title. And when great champions are hungry and focused, you cannot take your eyes off them completely.

The tennis Gods Down Under have not been kind to Nadal in the last few years. He lost a marathon six hour encounter against Djokovic in the 2012 Australian Open final. In 2014, he suffered a terrible back injury and lost to Stan Wawrinka, a player he had never lost to before. He has had injury issues many other times also.

This time he is again coming back from injury and with lesser expectations. He has not played much tennis in the last six months. However it can also be a blessing in disguise as it also means his body is without much wear and tear. If he can get through the initial rounds and get some rhythm, he can be a threat to anyone on his day.

His draw is also kind and he is likely to face Tomas Berdych in the quarters and Roger Federer in the semifinal, two players against whom he holds a psychological edge. A hungry Nadal would be hard to beat by any of these. And once in a slam final, there is no tougher opponent than Rafa Nadal.

If his injury issues do not crop up again, expect Nadal to contest for the title on the men’s final day and beat his opponent to complete his second career slam, tying Rod Laver in the process. The tennis Gods Down Under would finally smile on the Mallorcan.

 It will be a monumental comeback and achievement for the comeback king of tennis, and would further solidify his status as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Rafa: My Story

Why Rafa Nadal is the G.O.A.T

With the French Open 2014 title win over Novak Djokovic, Nadal is close on the heels of Federer’s Grand Slam haul of 17. The G.O.A.T discussion is alive again.

Rafa Nadal already has arguably the greatest resume of titles for any tennis player in history. With 14 Grand Salms, 27 Masters Series titles, 4 Davis Cups, 1 Olympic Gold medal and 141 weeks at no. 1 as of now, Rafa can rightly stake claim to being the greatest tennis player of all time.

If we look at various factors that need to be considered in judging an all time great, Rafa qualifies on most of them.

Rafa has won Grand Slams on all surfaces and can complete a 2^nd career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open 2015. He has faced top level competition in the form of Federer and Djokovic throughout his career and defeated them to win most of his Grand Salm titles. He also holds a positive, dominant head to head against all his top rivals.

Comparing this to his 3 rivals in the G.O.A.T debate, we can argue Rafa’s superiority over all of them.

1    Pete Sampras

Pete won 14 Grand Salms, but never could win anything on significance on clay. That is 1 out of the 3 playing surfaces. Comparatively Rafa is an all surface great.

Apart from that, Sampras didn’t have to face the greatest ensemble of tennis players ever in form of Federer, Djokovic and Murray that Rafa had to face throughout his career.

Above all, his lack of success on clay leaves him behind Rafa in the G.O.A.T debate.

2    Rod Laver

Laver played most of his tennis on grass and clay, with 3 of the 4 slams being played on grass in the 60s. Just imagine how many slams Rafa would have if 3 Grand Slams were played on clay!

Also, when we talk of his rivals, no such all time greats come in the picture compared to Rafa who has had to contend with Federer and Djokovic his entire career. Rafa arguably has a much tougher competition. Also, the competition hadn’t reached its peak in the 60s with tennis still limited to a few centres  during Laver’s time. 

Add to this , Laver never played on hard courts to win Grand Slams, the physically most demanding surface. All these indicate Rafa to be better than Laver.

3     Roger Federer

One statistic brings the real picture here. 10-21 ! Such a negative head to head against a fellow player puts a big question mark over Federer’s claim as the G.O.A.T.

Also, during his peak years from 2003-2007, when he won most of his Grand Salm titles, the level of competition wasn’t great. Almost all of his rivals including Hewitt, Safin, Roddick lacked the skills as well as the dedication to become a great rival.

Ever since Nadal and Djokovic matured, Federer’s domination has crumbled, and especially Nadal has bullied and dominated him on all surfaces. He holds records of 12-3 on clay &  8-2 on outdoor hard courts against Federer. That’s where 3 of the 4 Grand Slams are played.

If Federer isn’t the best player of his generation, which these stats clearly show, how can he be considered the greatest of all time?

All these point to the conclusion that Rafa indeed is the G.O.A.T and with 14 Grand Salms already at the age of 28, he can shatter the GS record of 17 held by Federer and be universally proclaimed the greatest ever tennis player of all time in 3 years from now!

That would put to an exclamation point on this G.O.A.T debate with Rafa rightfully assuming this mantle.

Rafa: My Story