
It’s sad that Nadal has pulled out of Wimbledon. Any true Federer fan ( i am one) will be upset. Why? well nobody wants to see another great player or champion losing the right to defend his own title – and despite the agony of 2008 in that final, i’d like to see Federer in another grand slam showdown against the man who is turning out to be his ultimate nemesis.
For those that are huge fans of Nadal and claim point blank that Federer’s reign is over, well this proves they are wrong. The Spaniard lost in the French (there was no mention of knee problems before Soderling), and he has now pulled out of Wimbledon. It’s no secret that Nadal’s game is built in part on his ability to chase every single ball down, to wear his opponent into submission – but that doesn’t make him a great player. Federer’s reign is far from over, and Nadal is far from achieving anything quite like the swiss has achieved in his 14 slams and 5 years at Number one. Being “great” or being the “greatest” as Muhammad Ali will attest to is about many things. One is the ability to perform in the sport for many years with the ability to go the distance, longevity therefore is no mean feat – and it’s one a great player should possess.
Federer’s game is great, because he conserves energy, he dances around the court and that means he’ll last longer and achieve more. Nadal pounds the floor, expands enormous amounts of energy and, with the incredible force of top spin he places on his shots, he places immense amount of pressure on his muscular frame in order to deal with the ferocity of his movement.
Whilst he’ll be able to beat the best players in the world when he is at his best, the reality is, there will always be a danger, if he carries on like this that he’ll be missing matches and big tournaments. He might only be 23, but Federer is still clocking up Grand Slams at 27 and looks at times as sharp as ever. Nadal might be the greatest chaser of the ball we have seen, but does he have the stamina to chase down Federer to ultimate greatness?
Judging by Nadal’s form over the past 6 months, you’d be a brave man to best against the Swiss right now, without doubt we are all watching the greatest player of the open game. I just hope Nadal recovers soon, so Federer gets the chance to prove to everybody that fair and square he has what it takes to master the Bull.