Nadal Makes History at the U.S. Open

Rafael Nadal

 I waited a few days to let the significance of what Rafael Nadal just accomplished sink in a little bit.  After traditionally struggling at the U.S. Open throughout his career, Nadal finally broke through and completed his career Grand Slam with a  6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over a game Novak Djokovic.  The 2nd set of the final was the only one Rafa dropped in the entire tournament, a dominant performance for a guy who had never made it past the semifinals at Flushing Meadows.  It's pretty crazy to think about, but as great as Roger Federer has been in winning a record 16 major titles, Nadal will have a very legitimate chance to break that record if he can stay healthy.  Here is a list of the impressive accomplishments of Rafael Nadal, all by the age of 24:

• 9 Grand Slam singles titles
• 7th player in history to complete the career Grand Slam, youngest to do it in the open era
• 2nd player to complete the Career Golden Slam, winning the 4 Slams and an Olympic Gold Medal (Andre Agassi)
• 18 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, already a record and one he will surely build on
• Part of 3 Davis Cup winning teams with Spain
• Became the first man to win majors on clay, grass, and hardcourts in the same year, and the first to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open in one year since Rod Laver in 1969.
• Only the 2nd man to win at least 2 Grand Slams each on clay, grass, and hardcourts (Mats Wilander)

Extremely impressive list!  While Roger Federer has pretty much dominated the headlines over the past 7 years (and rightfully so), the reign of Rafael Nadal is in full effect.  Federer and Nadal have met in 7 Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning 5 of them.  Nadal leads the overall head-to-head series 14-7 (10-2 on clay, 1-2 on grass, 3-3 on hardcourts).  There is no doubt Nadal has gotten the best of Roger head-to-head, and I'm excited to see if he can make a run at Federer's record over the next couple of years.  That said, I don't think Roger is quite finished yet, as I fully expect him to sneak in another major or 2 before he is done.  It's a great time in men's tennis right now, and I hope more people will start to watch.  For that to happen, we probably need the next great American player to come along soon, as a great rivalry between 2 foreigners doesn't seem to appeal to the American public.

Who will the next great American player be?  There are currently 4 Americans in the top 23:  Andy Roddick (#11, but clearly on the decline in his career), Mardy Fish (#19, on the rise later in his career after finally getting in great shape),  Sam Querrey (#21, has a great game, but not sure if he has what it takes to be a major winner), and John Isner (#23, hometown boy from Greensboro, NC).  I'll be rooting for Isner, as he seems like a guy I would like to hang out with, and he has the game to beat anyone on a given day in a bunch of tiebreakers, haha.  I also took the worst tennis beating of my life from his older brother in high school, so he's basically my closest connection to a top level pro athlete.  18-year-olds Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock also made big splashes at the U.S. Open this year, so maybe one of them can give the U.S. the top player it's been lacking since Sampras and Agassi.