Rafa Nadal 21 not out - How many Grand Slams can he win? - UBITENNIS

Rafa Nadal 21 not out – How many Grand Slams can he win?

After winning grand slam number 21 in Melbourne, Rafael Nadal is now striving for more grand slams to add to his collection.

By James Spencer
6 Min Read

One week on from Rafa Nadal’s stunning five-set victory over Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open, and tennis fans are purring over his next accomplishments.

After cementing a 21st Grand Slam title, with arguably his greatest comeback in a final and in general, after 6 months away from the sport, Nadal continues to make his marvel at his talent.

After a serious toe injury and contracting a bout of COVID-19 in December, Nadal had near to no expectations coming into 2022.

However, he won the title in Adelaide beating American Maxime Cressy in the final before his fairy-tale Australian Open triumph.

The script could not have been more perfect.

In beating Medvedev from two sets to love down, this was the first time the Spaniard had come back to win in five sets for 15 years.

It was also the first time he had ever done that in a Grand Slam final.

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The historic victory was his first in Australia since 2009.

It also made him only the fourth player in history to win each slam at least twice.

The Spaniard has now won 90 career titles, only 19 off the record held by American Jimmy Connors.

However, the biggest statistic is that he is now out in front as winning the most Grand Slams in men’s tennis.

Not even Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic can currently boast this.

And at 35-year-old in the twilight of his career no less. But should we be surprised?

I’m going to say a hard NO and explain why.

Nadal is flawless on all surfaces and we’ve seen that throughout the course of his career.

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The King of Clay has won the French Open 13 times so that goes without debate.

But although he had his wobbles on grass for a few years, he has since corrected this in his last two appearances at Wimbledon.

In 2018, he made the semi-finals, only just losing to Djokovic 10-8 in the fifth.

Then in 2019, Federer exacted revenge for his loss in the semi-finals of the French, and beat the Spaniard in the semi-finals of Wimbledon in four sets.

So, it is not inconceivable that another fairy-tale win, after a long-wait in Australia, could happen again at SW19.

As for hard courts, Nadal has won the US Open four times with stellar runs in 2017 and most recently in 2019 where he again beat Medvedev in a five-set classic.

Nadal also won the 2008 Beijing Olympics on hard and the Australian Open of course, so he is fundamentally a menace on all surfaces.

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He also has the shot selection to boot. The powerful groundstrokes, topspin forehand which as a left-hander, some players find it difficult to cope with.

His slice, drop-shots and net-volleys have also become such useful tools to his game.

In recent years, he’s remodelled his serve so that is now strong as well.

If I had to present an example of his winning mentality at work, his mental fortitude which is stronger than any player on the ATP Tour, it would be against Medvedev last Sunday.

After failing to serve it out at 5-4, he got the break again with some clutch tennis, right when Medvedev could potentially have stolen the victory.

Nadal, at the second time of asking, served it out to love, as cool as cucumber. It wasn’t even competitive the final game that clinched history, and another Australian Open, and his 21st Grand Slam.

On that evidence, he simply is one of a kind and the greatest of all time.

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But how many can he win?

I’m going to say that this latest victory will give him immense confidence, after last year’s drought, to claim two in a row and win the French for a 14th time.

Winning four Grand Slams in the same year has not been done since Rod Laver in the 60s so let’s say he finishes 2022 with 22, which is perfect symmetry.

I believe he has 5 more years at the top. That could equate to at least one slam a year, possibly another two French Open’s and another one or two on hard court.

I think Nadal could end his career with 25 or 26 Grand Slams, that would make him the most successful tennis player man or woman, in history.

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He may be a battle-hardened warrior with many injury issues as far as the eye can see, but he really wants this and he can play through pain, we know that.

I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Rafa Nadal, and long may his renaissance continue.

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