People have different heroes because of certain qualities in them. For this reason, people’s favorite tennis players are different. Being sublime versus being a fighter doesn’t determine who is greater. It only determines who chooses to love a Roger Federer or a Rafael Nadal as one’s favorite.
Love is one thing; comparison another. One doesn’t stop loving his favorite because he has won fewer number of Grand Slams or is not playing the way he once used to. In any case, this is no time to declare who is the greatest of all time, a tendency seen predominantly among Federer fans these days. Nadal fans have reasons to disagree with the presumptive GOAT tag ascribed to Federer by his fans.
One can indeed say that as of today, Federer stands ahead of Nadal in terms of his records. But this is mostly the result of what he accomplished till 2007. The next six years haven’t been as prolific for Federer as he has had to play amid far tough competition.
During 2008-13, Federer has only won five of his 17 Grand Slams and nine of his 27 (21 Masters1000 and 6 WorldTourFinals) Masters level titles. In the same period, Nadal has won almost double: 10/13 Grand Slams and 17/26 Masters1000 titles.
When it comes to Nadal’s records, some people tend to discount his wins on clay. This is completely unfair. The first thing to be kept in perspective is that out of the 14 most important tournaments (four Grand Slams + nine ATP Masters1000 events + one ATP WorldTourFinals) that take place in a tennis calendar year, only 4 (one French Open and three ATP Masters1000 events – Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome Masters) are played on clay. Moreover, everyone has a different playing style. Rafa’s grinding style and his ability to construct points is more suited to clay while Federer’s rhythmic style that keeps points short suits faster surfaces like grass and indoors (where wind conditions etc don’t affect his rhythm).
So, if Nadal has won a mind-boggling 8 out of the 9 Grand Slams and 18 out of the 27 Masters1000 played on clay since 2005, his performance deserves nothing but kudos for he has utterly dominated every other player of his generation on the surface. Doesn’t Federer get accolades for winning a record 6 WorldTourFinals played indoors and 7 Wimbledon Championships played on grass?
Another fact that people often miss is that Nadal is about 5 years younger than Federer. If you make a comparison of their career evolution, you will find that Nadal is ahead of Federer in terms of his Grand Slam wins, title wins and total match wins at age 27.
In fact, as of today, Nadal is catching up fast on the total and Federer, though currently in a slump, hasn’t yet retired. So, anointing the GOAT will have to wait until after their careers. Till then, keep loving and keep supporting your favorite!