While tennis players of recent generations marveled at previous tennis greats such as Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, John McEnroe and more, tennis students of the present continue to debate the greatest player of the new generation; Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal?
Federer has 16 major titles.
Nadal has nine.
Fed has amassed upside of $62 million so far.
Rafa nearly $38 million.
And Federer is ranked at world number two.
Nadal? Number one.
However, to make conclusions based solely on the number of Grand Slam titles won, net career prize money, or current world ATP rankings would be unfair. While these categories shed light on the success and greatness of each respective player, there is more to tennis than simply the shiny trophies players hold above their heads.
Sure, both players are 6 foot, 1 inch and weigh virtually the same — 185 pounds, but upon further examination, the dichotomy between Federer and Nadal becomes apparent.
Federer is a Swede, a gentleman, and glides across the court in a graceful manner, sweeping the opponent from side to side with pinpoint accuracy and right-handed magic. He seems to hover barely above the court surface and sits atop the baseline, dictating play, but running down well-placed returns when necessary.
Nadal, on the other hand, is a Spaniard with rugged, lefty, western-gripped strokes that send the ball lurching toward space with tremendous spin. He scrapes across the court, reaching nearly every ball on his side of the court, best highlighted by his mastery of the slippery clay surface at Rolland Garros where he slides to victory. Nadal is a gentleman in his own right, but he has earned the unofficial “matador†moniker due to his young, cheery, and assertively handsome attitude on and off the court.
As noted, deciding the greater of the two based on Majors won, net career prize money, and current world ranking would be wrong. Primarily, Federer would easily win the rivalry with 7 more Majors than Nadal and $24 million more in prize money. While Nadal is the current world number one, the rankings change year to year and even tournament to tournament.
A prime example of the need to look closer than the number of Majors won is Andy Murray, world number five, who has yet to win a major in the five and a half years he has spent as a professional tennis player competing at the top level. This lack of titles does not make him a poor player; it only means that one must dig deeper to discover his greatness.
Furthermore, the fact that Nadal is younger than Fed must be taken into account.
Rafa is now at the mere age of 24 and went pro only nine years ago when he was 15. Federer, on the other hand, is almost in his 30s — he is 29 years of age, and went pro roughly 12 years ago when he was 17. Federer is, relative to professional sport and tennis standards, starting to get old. Signs of aging are starting to appear in his game too, both in the style of his game, and his match scores. He’s not as quick. And Fed dropped a few sets here and there to unseeded players in the Aussie Open just a few weeks ago.
In conclusion, what we are currently witnessing is the transition from a decade dominated by one player, Roger Federer, to a decade dominated by another, Rafael Nadal. Even their stereotypes suggest this transition; Federer is the older, gentleman-like player while Nadal is the young and aggressive bull fighter.
In the next half-decade, Rafa is likely to take center stage and win more matches while Federer fades over time, eventually pushed to retirement by age and a growing family; he has two twin girls born back in mid 2009 after all.
For now though, we can appreciate the drama and excitement of the Federer and Nadal rivalry and hope for more Grand Slam finals between the two to keep the tennis world on its toes, so to speak.
