Rafa played brilliantly yesterday. For a match that went that long, I couldn't believe he was still chasing down balls as if it were the first set of the match. Talk about an instant classic. It's nice to see a changing of the guard at Wimbledon, but don't count Federer done. The man is 26 and is two grand slam titles from tying Sampras. He's at the top of his game (with Nadal surging up behind him fast). These two will continue to battle it out for many years to come.
Nadal is the future of men's tennis. I heard one of the talking heads say that at the same age as Nadal, Federer had only one slam to his credit. Federer may catch Pete but Nadal will probably own the record for most slam wins.
Not yet. The new rankings came out, and Federer is still #1 in the world. Nadal is 4-5 years younger than Federer. Federer peaked during 2004-2006 (during that time he was virtually unbeatable). It'll be interesting to see if Nadal ever becomes as dominant as Federer was during 2004-2006 (or if Federer himself can have another season like he did back in 2004-2006). This season, Nadal and Federer are at about the same level so far... but the season isn't over.
Not sure. I agree with that. Federer, I believe, is 0 - 4 vs. Nadal this year losing to him at Wimbledon, French Open and the ATP Master Series in Hamburg and Monte Carlo. We'll see what happens at the U S Open.
and to add to it all, Nadal leads in the only place that it matters. 2-0 in grand slam titles with just one to play, so game, set and match to Nadal for 2008. I don't care about the rankings either, because those still give credence to 2007 results. To see who is really #1 in the world THIS year, look at the ATP money list.
Nadal is not 2-0 in Grand Slam tournaments. He was humiliated in the Australian Open by unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6–2, 6–3, 6–2). Federer is 0-3 in Grand Slam Tournaments this year, but the guys that knocked him out were two best other guys in tennis (Nadal and Djokovic), as well as the champions of the respective tournament (Djokovic won the Australian Open). But yes, that is monumental that Nadal won the French Open and Wimbledon back to back (last player to do that was Borg in 1980). And that was monumental that Nadal won his 4th consecutive French Open -- he joins Borg, Sampras, and Federer as the only men in recent history to win the same Grand Slam tournament four consecutive times. Also, you could point out that Nadal has won 2 out of 5 of the ATP series tournaments so far this year, while Federer hasn't won any of them. But, look at the guys who knocked off Federer this year -- they are currently ranked #2, #3, #6, #9, #12, and #41. Compare that to the guys that knocked of Nadal this year -- they are currently ranked #3, #5, #6, #16, #19, #27, #37. In other words, Nadal lost to more chumps that Federer did. I imagine that's why they still have Federer ranked #1, and I imagine that is why, after Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon, that Nadal seemed sincere when he stated that he believed Federer is still #1. But the season is only halfway over. You've still got one more Grand Slam tournament (the US Open), four more ATP series tournaments, the Olympics, and the season-end Tennis Master Cup.
