On Sunday, Rafael Nadal equaled Roger Federer’s top 20 titles, winning his thirteenth Roland Garros crown and trapping his great rival. Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge believes it won’t be easy for Roger to fight for more big titles once he returns in January.
Woodbridge said Roger still hits the ball like old times, but his body can’t bounce back from seven best-of-five meetings in two weeks at Majors, expending a lot of energy fighting Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
For Woodforde, it would be great if Roger and Rafa finished their careers with the same number of Major trophies, pushing each other to the limit for 15 years and bringing out the best in each other. After the Australian Open, Roger had to skip the rest of the season, underwent knee surgeries in February and May, and worked on a comeback that should occur in early 2021.
Due to the coronavirus, Federer has remained within the top-4 after holding the 2019 points. Thus, the Swiss will not lose much in the battle with Djokovic, Nadal and Thiem, hoping for a new start in two and a half months.
Federer claimed his 20th Major at the 2018 Australian Open, and Nadal rallied after that to win four Major crowns and join the Swiss at the top of the GOAT race. Walking away from official games between February and September, Nadal skipped the season restart in Cincinnati and the US Open, losing in the quarterfinals in Rome and raising his bar at beloved Roland Garros to write another chapter in the history of the tennis.
At 34, Nadal conquered Paris without dropping a set, expanding his dominance in the only clay Major and winning 100 of 102 matches in the French capital. In the final, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes, lifting that elusive 20th Major crown in style.
Offering aggressive and controlled tennis, Rafa broke only once, hitting more winners than unforced errors and making the most of Novak’s 50 unforced errors. The Serbian couldn’t find a rhythm for about two hours, he fought harder in the third set but suffered a break at 5-5 that led to Nadal.
“It’s not about the quality of his game, but the ability of his body to withstand seven games in a Major. The way he hits the ball is probably as good as ever, but the body is not recovering as fast as before.
The years he spent with Rafa and Novak made it difficult for him. It would be something special if Federer and Nadal end up with the same amount of Majors, “said Todd Woodbridge.
