Chasing More Than History

Hungry for more? Rafael Nadal outlasted Roger

Federer in a scene we are becoming used to seeing.

They all say the same thing about a rivalry in sports: it is only a rivalry if both sides are seen as equals and that they can win an equal amount of times. It draws fans of a hardcore and a casual nature. These two sides can draw you to a television set, a radio, a newspaper, Internet, or any other form of media at any time and it makes for good drama. This past Sunday night (or early Sunday morning-depending on your take), Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal took to center stage at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia and put on another classic 5-set, 5-star, 5 hour match that was supposed to be another step for Federer in his quest to match Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam titles. Winning so over Nadal would have done two things of significance: the first being Federer tying Sampras at 14 apiece and the second being Federer, after dropping the last two finals to Nadal and losing his reign at Wimbledon in arguably the greatest match of all time, winning over Nadal would give him the one edge that Federer had not lost in his glorious stretch of possibly being the greatest tennis player that ever lived: hard court dominance.

Yes, he lost to Novak Djokovic in last year's Aussie Open but he had just gotten over Mono for cryin' out loud and he has lost some titles to Nadal on hard courts but nothing on the major level to where the aura of Federer had not been diminished. Yes, Nadal was the #1 ranked player in the world but Federer had won 8 of his 13 majors on this surface (3-Aussie Open; 5-US Open) and was certainly the #2 ranked player and probably could have been considered 1a. In the hearts of many, Federer was still the man and would prove that one more time.

But he didn't...

No he did not. Instead, Rafael Nadal after surviving a 5-set, 5 hour marathon over Fernando Verdasco less than 48 hours later, beat Roger Federer in another Grand Slam final. Yes, now Nadal is truly the world's best player-no longer a slave to the moniker of a man who is only good on the organic surfaces and his physical style, a detriment on hard court surfaces, overcame Federer, fatigue, fans (no matter what commentators Dick Enberg and Patrick McEnroe said, the crowd was certainly pro-Federer but thankfully not anti-Nadal), and the specter of number fourteen for Fed in 5 sets and almost 5 hours.

For Nadal, it is now major number 6 and at twenty-two years old, by God....he is already on his own historic pace to run past the record books as he continued his major dominance over Federer. Whether it be Paris or the All-England Club or now the microwave like heat of Melbourne, Nadal sees Federer, he embraces challenges and history and the mystique of Roger Federer. As for the vanquished, Federer sees Nadal, he sees a stumbling block to history. A stop sign to being the greatest player of all time because logic would dictate that in order for a legend to truly be considered amongst the discussion of greatest ever, shouldn't he/she have to beat their greatest rival? Sampras beat Agassi despite many considering Agassi to be the better all around player. Laver beat Newcombe and Pat Cash no matter if it was the Open Era or the Amateur Era. Agassi however, never beat Sampras in a major final to firmly establish his all-time greatness, but we all knew where he stood in the previous generation of tennis: number two. This conversation between Federer and Nadal still has no conclusion so far.

The tears of agony from Roger

Federer only summate what was

truly a lost opportunity.

Tennis fans cannot argue that at some point, Federer will overtake Sampras in Grand Slam victories. He is a young 27 years old, has never sustained one major physical injury, and seems to have an effortless floatation and levitation on the court that will keep him majors for a few more years to come. He still has not lost the magic of Flushing Meadows, where the grind of a long season kills many a player's major chances, Federer keeps the same pace and meticulous approach to the tune of 5 consecutive US Open titles and there is no doubt that despite this setback, he is still the best hard court player alive today and might as well be of all-time. However, the stigma of Nadal can haunt his legacy: he now stands 1-5 against Rafa in Grand Slam finals and has seen his aura weaken. No longer is he considered a factor in Paris after Nadal embarrassed Federer at last year's French Open. He lost his grip at his castle-Centre Court, Wimbledon to Nadal in "The Greatest Match of All-Time". He now has lost his hard court edge to Nadal, who is easily in the head of Federer. The tears across the usually emotion-less 13-time Grand Slam champion was the greatest sign of all: Federer for perhaps the first time in his career showed fans his emotion of another level in defeat. He showed us frailty as a human being as to how much he wanted this night to be his...how he wanted this night against his greatest rival to firmly entrench his greatness in tennis history. Time however, has had other plans laid for the Fed Express. He must wait...

Time will have to wait but now this question you are left with it this: we all know Federer will pass Sampras...but now, how many will Nadal win???