Hitting harder and moving more explosively than ever, Rafa Nadal raised the bar of men’s tennis another notch during his defeat of Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final on Monday.
In the short term, it now looks just a matter of time before the Mallorcan powerhouse returns to the top of the world rankings; more significantly, Roger Federer‘s record of 17 grand slam titles is no longer a speck on the horizon.
Nadal’s 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-1 victory over Djokovic at Flushing Meadow took the 27-year-old’s major haul to 13 and the nature of it suggested he is again set to take a stranglehold at the top of the men’s game.
Djokovic threw everything at Nadal during the latest enthralling chapter in their rivalry and for a while during the third set he looked to have gained the upper hand only for Nadal to steam past him and claim a second U.S. crown.
Who would have thought it at the start of the year?
When Lukas Rosol sent Nadal’s tennis world spinning off its axis at Wimbledon in June last year, it seemed the wear and tear on the Spaniard’s knees had finally caught up with him and he did not hit a ball in anger for seven months.
Yet since re-emerging at a low-key claycourt tournament in Chile in February, the Spaniard has been virtually unstoppable, winning 10 titles, including an eighth French Open, and proving that his knees can withstand the pounding of hardcourt tennis.
When he returned from his injury lay-off it seemed reasonable to assume his main focus would be the French Open.
Yet Nadal, who once used to look slightly less menacing on faster hardcourts, has added spice to his serve and extra speed to his forehand to turn himself into the concrete king with Masters titles in Indian Wells, Montreal and Cincinnati before his rampage in New York.
Federer’s record in danger as Nadal aces the comeback - Firstpost
In the short term, it now looks just a matter of time before the Mallorcan powerhouse returns to the top of the world rankings; more significantly, Roger Federer‘s record of 17 grand slam titles is no longer a speck on the horizon.
Nadal’s 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-1 victory over Djokovic at Flushing Meadow took the 27-year-old’s major haul to 13 and the nature of it suggested he is again set to take a stranglehold at the top of the men’s game.
Djokovic threw everything at Nadal during the latest enthralling chapter in their rivalry and for a while during the third set he looked to have gained the upper hand only for Nadal to steam past him and claim a second U.S. crown.
Who would have thought it at the start of the year?
When Lukas Rosol sent Nadal’s tennis world spinning off its axis at Wimbledon in June last year, it seemed the wear and tear on the Spaniard’s knees had finally caught up with him and he did not hit a ball in anger for seven months.
Yet since re-emerging at a low-key claycourt tournament in Chile in February, the Spaniard has been virtually unstoppable, winning 10 titles, including an eighth French Open, and proving that his knees can withstand the pounding of hardcourt tennis.
When he returned from his injury lay-off it seemed reasonable to assume his main focus would be the French Open.
Yet Nadal, who once used to look slightly less menacing on faster hardcourts, has added spice to his serve and extra speed to his forehand to turn himself into the concrete king with Masters titles in Indian Wells, Montreal and Cincinnati before his rampage in New York.
Federer’s record in danger as Nadal aces the comeback - Firstpost
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