There is a shelf life for greatness in every sport. The best never last forever — even those who spend the longest time in the rarified air dominating their sport.
So even at the age of 27, an age when many of us are merely just beginning to find our way in our professional lives, Rafael Nadal is slowly approaching that end line in his already-brilliant career right now, with his professional mortality tested by another knee injury from which he came back only seven months ago.
That made Nadal’s 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Novak Djokovic for his second career U.S. Open title and second Grand Slam of the year Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium that much more important for the Spaniard, who captured his 13th career Grand Slam with the win.
Further adding to the sweet taste of victory for Nadal was how remarkable it was he was even in the final, considering he was sidelined with that partially torn patella tendon last year, which had many — including Nadal and his inner circle — wondering if he would ever return to his world-class form.
Much like Vikings running back Adrian Peterson returned from a torn ACL suffered in 2011 and nearly broke the NFL single-season rushing record last season, Nadal looks as if he has returned from his latest knee injury an even better player.
Given the circumstances it took to get to his lucky 13th Slam, Nadal called the win “probably the most emotional one in my career.’’
It showed when the match ended, and after a warm embrace with Djokovic at the net, Nadal tumbled to the court face down and wept.
“I felt that I did everything right to have my chance here,’’ he said. “You play one match against one of the best players of the history like this … Novak … No. 1 in the world … on his favorite surface … I [had] to be almost perfect to win. This is a really special moment for me.’’
Nadal, only one Grand Slam title short of Pete Sampras’ 14 and four away from tying the all-time record of 17 held by Roger Federer, is already one of the all-time greats, and he’s not nearly finished yet.
“Well, 13 Grand Slams for a guy who is 27 years old is incredible,’’ Djokovic said. “He’s definitely one of the best tennis players ever to play the game and, looking at his achievements and his age, he still has a lot of years to play.’’
The reality of Nadal’s latest knee injury, coupled with the violent way in which he has always moved around the tennis court and played, is that there was always a possibility he might never get back to center court at Ashe to play in a U.S. Open final.
But a remarkable run of hardcourt play in the last few months has boosted not only Nadal’s confidence but his chances of possibly overtaking Federer.
Nadal, who also won the U.S. Open in 2010, is now 22-0 on hardcourts this year — noteworthy not only for its perfection, but because Nadal’s best surface has always been clay, where he famously wears his opponents down to the dust they’re playing on. Hardcourts, in fact, are his least favorite surface.
Adding to his greatness is the fact Nadal — like a Hall of Fame pitcher who used to strike out 10 batters a game with 100 mph heat but had to become more of a finesse pitcher after having arm trouble — has altered his game to ease the strain on his body by playing more aggressively to shorten points and protect his knees.
Two hours after the match, as he sat and answered questions in a press conference, a reporter asked Nadal about the possibilities ahead of him — like overtaking Sampras and chasing down Federer. He smiled and said, “Let me enjoy today.’’
If he is able to match Federer’s Grand Slam record, though, Nadal might not even need to win an 18th to be considered the greatest of all time, because he has a 21-10 career record against the Swiss star.
This is what lies ahead of the Spaniard for as long as that shelf-life window remains open. He should enjoy the ride, and you should enjoy the show.