Re: Rafa Nadal
Reply #22 –
I've read in a few places that the rule introduced a few years ago to allow players to miss part of the tennis calendar was done at Federer's request. No idea if it's true. Prior to that, players were not permitted to sit out the clay court season, grass season etc.
I seem to recall he started dodging a few tournaments and focussed only on the grand slams a while back.
And let's not overlook that in most sports, at the elite level, there's more than likely one or more Lance Armstrongs lurking....?
Fed, Novak and Muzza all should be in that conversation too.....
Hard to say.
I'd like to think not, but they seem to improve really quickly every generation.
I would have thought they'd taper off at some point, but it just doesn't seem to happen.
If anyone's on it, it's Federer, he's defied biology, broken down a little and seems better than ever these days.
Rafa and Novak have been battling for the last two years with various injuries.
Perhaps it's the difference in game style too, but you can't simply throw mud at them for being the best in their code.