World No.1 Rafael Nadal has shared his own view about the reason why only a few players have been able to dominate men’s tennis in recent years.
The Spaniard is a member of the so-called ‘Big Four.’ A quartet of players that has won 52 out of the last 59 grand slam tournaments between themselves since 2004. Besides Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are also members of the group. Earlier this month Djokovic won the Wimbledon Championships after defeating Kevin Anderson in the final.
Speaking about the current dominance of himself, Federer and Djokovic, Nadal labelled their reign an ‘exceptional circumstance.’ The 32-year-old has won 79 ATP titles so far in his career, including a record 11 French Open titles. In the Open Era no other player have won more clay court tournaments than Nadal on the ATP Tour. His record currently stands at 57 titles.
“There are two options to explain the fact that three players are dominating the (tennis) circuit for so many years, and that we are in the top positions in the ranking for so many years,” Nadal told reporters on Wednesday.
“Either we have been special, or the emerging players have not been special enough,” he said, adding “I cannot say which is correct”.
Despite having one of the greatest records in the Open Era, winning is not necessarily everything for the 32-year-old. Who says his approach to the tour is to be ‘competitive every week, and if he wins, all the better.’
“At this point in my career, winning is the essence of the sport, but competing well and enjoying at highest level is what makes me really happy,” he explained.
Nadal spoke about the current state of men’s tennis during the launch of a new Challenger tournament. The The Rafa Nadal Open Banc Sabadell will get underway on August 26th. It will be held at Nadal’s academy in Manacor, Spain. Making it the most prestigious competitive event the Academy had ever held. The Rafa Nadal academy had previously hosted four ITF tournaments.
“Everyone has gone through a Challenger, and competing in one of them is very important for tennis players.” Said Nadal, who won two Challenger titles during 2003.
“I played for half a year in Challenger tournaments before turning professional, and it was a very interesting experience, I enjoyed it a lot.”
Nadal will return to action next month at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. A tournament he has won on three previous occasions.
