Greatness is already his but Nadal’s renaissance could see him dominate the other Grand Slams too

Roger Federer was right. When it comes to tennis, he almost always is. But this time, he was right even more so than on other occasions. He was right to skip the French Open. He was right, because he knew he had no chance.

Such was Rafael Nadal’s dominance during the two weeks at Roland Garros that he could very well have sleep-walked to the title. He could have done that – and still no one would be surprised.

Perhaps, Federer saw this coming way before anyone else did. He beat Nadal in three consecutive matches for the first time in his career earlier in the season but even in those matches, one could see that Nadal was fitter than he had ever been in the last two years. And a fit Nadal usually equals an unbeatable Nadal on clay.

However, fitness alone doesn’t win you Grand Slams. Neither does competitive spirit. And neither of them work over a 12-year-period unless you find ways to continuously change your game… to make it even better.

You stick to the same plan long enough and you can be pretty sure the man on the other side of the net will find an answer. But Nadal’s game has been evolving – an evolution that was put off by injuries but is now firmly back on track.

Nadal started off as a muscled guy who would chase down everything and keep sending it back. He still does that – just ask Stan Wawrinka. But what hurt the Swiss star was not just Nadal’s retrieving ability. Rather, it was the complete package.

The ATP website did the math for us and the numbers are stunning.

- Nadal was +19 in the 0-4 shot rally length, +12 in the 5-8 shot rally length, and just +6 in the 9+ shot rally length.

- Nadal won an impressive 60 per cent (370/618) of his baseline points for the tournament, and a lights-out 65 per cent (58/89) against Wawrinka in the final

- Nadal won 72 per cent of his first-serve points in the tournament, and a mind-blowing 74 per cent of his second-serve points. The Spaniard won 65 per cent (15-23) of his second serve points against Wawrinka.

- Nadal hit five backhand winners, but committed only 14 total backhand errors.

- The most influential shot on the court was Nadal’s forehand. He only hit 14 forehand winners, but that was three more than Wawrinka’s 11 but the consistent depth and angle of his shots forced Wawrinka to stay on the defensive.

The numbers point to one fact: Nadal’s game is in a better place than it has ever been before. His serve – once a weakness – now gets him free points. His backhand – the one refuge away from his forehand – has evolved to a point where he can trust it to not fail. And the shorter points show that he is playing aggressive tennis… moving into his shots with. With persistent injuries finally giving way to a fitter, stronger and more resilient player, there is little in his game that can be considered a weakness.

Of course, there are some who would look at his record and say that he has won 10 off his 15 Grand Slams on clay. His mastery on one surface has never quite translated to the other Slams but they forget that Rafa is still just 31 and that 10 titles at the same Grand Slam is anything but normal.

With Novak Djokovic fading and Andy Murray going through a difficult time, the Spaniard is in a position to not just overtake Federer’s haul of 18 Majors but also to cement his legend as someone who can dominate across surfaces.

His all-court game seems to be in place and mentally, he seems to have put the hurt of the last two years behind him. Having Carlos Moya as part of his team has clearly had an impact and with Uncle Toni deciding to concentrate more on the academy, Moya’s impact on Nadal’s game will only grow. If that means more aggression, Nadal and the tennis world should more than welcome it.

Nadal, himself, is looking ahead to the grass court season and while he realises that he won’t be quite as invincible once he steps off the clay, he’s always been a fighter.

  “I’m going to be under pressure in one week when I play in Queen’s. That’s the real thing and that’s the sport. And that’s the beautiful thing about our sport. My motivation is still there. I really want to keep competing for important things and I am going to keep working hard to try to have more days like today.”  

  “That’s my motivation and that’s why I am playing tennis, still playing tennis, because I have the passion for the game and I like the competition. I will keep having chances to compete for the most important things and that’s what I want to try to do.”  

In a way, Nadal has found himself again – and the moment fittingly so came on the clay of Roland Garros. But can he drive himself to even greater glory? That perhaps remains the only question to be answered. For greatness, as the La Decima showed, is already his.