Nigeria Content Online

With the U.S. Open
trophy tucked safely under his arms and the world of tennis at his
feet, Rafa Nadal answered the one question everybody was asking with a
shy grin.

“I think talking about if I am better or worse than Roger (Federer) is stupid,” he protested.

“Because the titles
say he’s much better than me, so that’s true at that moment. I think
that will be true all my life.” Federer, 29, has a record 16 grand slam
championships, but the 24-year-old Nadal made his ninth grand slam
triumph something extra special.

The 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2
victory over Novak Djokovic of Serbia for his first Flushing Meadows
win made Nadal the seventh man to claim all four of the sport’s grand
slam titles, and the first since Rod Laver 41 years ago to close a
season with wins at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S.
championship.

The question, however, still remained.

Almost from the
moment he stepped onto the court as a teenager raised on dusty red
Spanish clay courts, Nadal has been answering the same question: Was he
going to be the greatest player of all time?

Nadal’s New York performance made a huge statement.

Amazing feeling

After piling up
five French Opens, two Wimbledons and an Australian Open the
hard-hitting left-hander had set his sights firmly on the final jewel
in the grand slam crown.

He improved his
serve, honed his volley and nurtured his fitness to triumph at a
Federer stronghold where the Swiss had won five titles and reached six
successive finals.

“It was an amazing
feeling,” beamed Nadal. “I played my best match in the U.S. Open at the
most important moment, so I am very, very happy for that, for sure.

“To win in here in
the U.S. Open I think is the more difficult tournament for me to play,
more difficult conditions to adapt, to adjust my game on this court,
for the balls, for the court, for everything.”

With Nadal sweeping through the slams, it is easy to forget the turnaround the Spaniard has made.

A new man

Last year his
chronic knee problems were so bad it kept him from defending his
Wimbledon title. An abdominal problem weakened him at the U.S. Open,
and his physical woes were so bad he quit his quarter-final at the
Australian Open in January.

“Life changes
sometimes, no?” said a philosophical Nadal. “Ten months ago (it) seemed
like I was never gonna be the same. Now, seems I’m gonna be one of the
greatest…

“When you come back, you are ready to value how difficult it is win titles and how difficult is to be there all the time.”

Nadal understands
how quickly things can change in tennis and in life, but he served his
rivals a dire warning in addressing the state of his game.

“For me the most
important thing is try to keep serving like I did during this
tournament,” said Nadal, who lost only one set in the championship.

“If I can do it, it
is gonna be a big change for me and my tennis career, because if I have
those free points that I had during all this tournament, (it’s) gonna
be different for me.

“I can play more aggressive. I can play with more calm when I am returning.

“After that, I can
improve everything: volley, keep improving the volley, keep improving
the position on court, being more inside the court.

“I improved a lot
since last year, but never is enough. I am not a perfect player, so
everybody can improve.” Even with improvement, Nadal was loathe to
speculate on catching Federer.

“We will see what happens in the future. I am not a genius.”