Dawn of the Rafal Nadal Era?
Roger Federer has been such a dominant Number One for the past few years that it’s hard to realize that he won’t be the Number One player in the record books for 2008… With his French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic Gold Medal, this was clearly Rafael Nadal’s year and he deserves to be ranked Number One. The real question of whether this year is the start of Rafa’s reign, won’t be answered until at least next summer
after the first three Grand Slams of 2009 have been played, i.e. Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. The other real test will be whether Nadal can finally peak for the U.S. Open when he has typically been rather exhausted after the spring and summer seasons. Nadal has demonstrated without a doubt in 2008 that he has the game to win on every surface. Nadal also has the work ethic and desire to remain at the very top of the game and is used to the pressures of being a top ranked player having been Number Two for several years. The real challenge for Rafa will be to stay healthy. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and a few others will be right on Nadal’s heels in 2009 challenging for both Grand Slam titles and the Number One ranking. It should be a fascinating year!
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