Rafael Nadal was quick to play down his ambition to overtake Federer’s current Grand Slam trophy count after his French Open victory. In what was Nadal’s 11th Roland Garros win, he told interviewers after the game that overtaking Federer’s 20 Grand Slams was not something that is on his mind.
Nadal wants to enjoy the moment
It was clear that he wanted to be able to enjoy his latest achievement, rather than drawing comparisons with his greatest rival. Federer and Nadal have dominated men’s tennis for so long now, with only Andy Murray and Djokovic having a chance of ending their dynasty during this period. Nadal currently tops the ATP rankings with 8,770 points to Federer’s 8,670. The rivalry is as close as ever but with all of the trophies under their belts, you might excuse them for taking their foot off the gas a little.
The record is in sight
However, this seems far from either player’s mind, as they continue to accumulate more silverware between them. With all eyes now moving onto Wimbledon, Federer is the current bookies favourite to win the prestigious tennis trophy but Nadal will be pushing him all the way. Regardless of whether Nadal is open to discussing his Grand Slam record in comparison to Federer’s, it is only natural that commentators and the press will be talking about this. Nadal could go into 2019 just one Grand Slam trophy behind Federer, should he take his French Open form into the Wimbledon and US Open tournaments.
Source: www.aljazeera.com
11th French Open win for Nadal
The 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Dominic Thiem had even more significance than usual as Nadal equalled Margaret Court’s record of 11 titles won at the same Grand Slam event. Nadal loves Roland Garros and the coveted trophy clearly enjoys being in his company. This historic victory will attract even more talk about the stats between Nadal and Federer, with the Grand Slam haul being focused upon even more over the next few years at least.
Time is on Nadal’s side
At 36, Federer has already spoken about calling time on his tennis career but at 32, Nadal could still have several years at the top. This will obviously give him numerous opportunities to eventually overtake Federer, although it certainly is not a given. Anything can happen in tennis and just as Murray’s injury has come at a bad time for him, injuries or loss of form may stand in Nadal’s way. However, after this latest win chances are looking for good for him to rewrite the history books and become the all-time men’s leader in the singles career Grand Slam wins.
