Nadal - The King!!! What, you kiddin?
Congratulations to Nadal on becoming the new World Number 1, deservedly so. Fitting No. 1 to say the least. 4 French open titles, a French & Wimbledon in the same year and an Olympic Gold - incredible. But then, let’s drill down a speck further.
Looking at the last 14 world number players to have reached No. 1, my eyes cannot escape the fact that 7 of them are named: Jim Courier, Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios, Carlos Moya, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Wow - a striking similarity between them all. What's that? Oh yes, clay! All of them are former French open champions and stalwarts on clay. What other grand slams have they won? Zuk... You must be kidding.... I wish, but nope. Some of them have not even won French twice.
Does anyone remember Michael Stich, Richard Krajicek, and Goran Ivanisevic - former Wimbledon champs? They did not win any other grand slams, and neither did they reach world number 1.
Why this discrepancy? Simply because the clay court season is longer and have way too many tournaments to play for (More you play, more ATP points you get! Sadly so) With more hard court tournaments sprawling up and given the two hard court slams, better hard court players are getting close to the sights of No. 1. Players like Hewitt, Safin and Roddick have been world number 1s, courtesy hard courts.
The point is that the term "World number 1" is relative. All above mentioned players are champions and deserved No. 1 players in their times, but to call them "King" would be foolish. A King should be here to stay. Federer, unimaginably, has held on to the top spot for 237 weeks with not having won the French and many of its clay counterparts. Apart from this 12 titles, he has also proved to the world that he is the second best clay court player, reaching the finals thrice. Now, that is an achievement! Now that is what we call a King.
Coming back to Nadal, what has he achieved actually? Is it the 4 Frech open titles. Right, so? Never reached the semis of a hard court slam. Hmm, is it? Then why is he the champ?
What stands between "Just a clay court pig" and "a becoming a legend" is the Wimbledon title!! He might have become the top player nevertheless, given his clay run. Without the Wimbledon title, Nadal would be listed alongside the 7 names mentioned above.
Nadal, a king? Well, hold on! Nadal is the conqueror! King of Clay! Time will answer if he really becomes the King of the world. The race begins now.
Looking at the last 14 world number players to have reached No. 1, my eyes cannot escape the fact that 7 of them are named: Jim Courier, Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios, Carlos Moya, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Wow - a striking similarity between them all. What's that? Oh yes, clay! All of them are former French open champions and stalwarts on clay. What other grand slams have they won? Zuk... You must be kidding.... I wish, but nope. Some of them have not even won French twice.
Does anyone remember Michael Stich, Richard Krajicek, and Goran Ivanisevic - former Wimbledon champs? They did not win any other grand slams, and neither did they reach world number 1.
Why this discrepancy? Simply because the clay court season is longer and have way too many tournaments to play for (More you play, more ATP points you get! Sadly so) With more hard court tournaments sprawling up and given the two hard court slams, better hard court players are getting close to the sights of No. 1. Players like Hewitt, Safin and Roddick have been world number 1s, courtesy hard courts.
The point is that the term "World number 1" is relative. All above mentioned players are champions and deserved No. 1 players in their times, but to call them "King" would be foolish. A King should be here to stay. Federer, unimaginably, has held on to the top spot for 237 weeks with not having won the French and many of its clay counterparts. Apart from this 12 titles, he has also proved to the world that he is the second best clay court player, reaching the finals thrice. Now, that is an achievement! Now that is what we call a King.
Coming back to Nadal, what has he achieved actually? Is it the 4 Frech open titles. Right, so? Never reached the semis of a hard court slam. Hmm, is it? Then why is he the champ?
What stands between "Just a clay court pig" and "a becoming a legend" is the Wimbledon title!! He might have become the top player nevertheless, given his clay run. Without the Wimbledon title, Nadal would be listed alongside the 7 names mentioned above.
Nadal, a king? Well, hold on! Nadal is the conqueror! King of Clay! Time will answer if he really becomes the King of the world. The race begins now.
posted by AG at
6:36 PM
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