Opinion Problem with greatness

Indeed, firsts of an unpleasant kind have been piling up for Nadal. His loss to Fognini was the first time he has blown a two-sets-to-love lead at a grand slam.

By his own stratospheric standards, Rafael Nadal has had something of an annus horribilis. He is ranked eighth in the world, and has won three singles titles so far this season. He made the quarterfinals of two grand slam tournaments, the Australian and French Opens, losing to Tomas Berdych at the former and World Number One Novak Djokovic at the latter. But, as commentators and worried fans noted after his third round defeat at the US Open by Fabio Fognini in a five-set thriller, 2015 marks the first time that Nadal has not won at least one grand slam since he started accumulating them in 2005.

Indeed, firsts of an unpleasant kind have been piling up for Nadal. His loss to Fognini was the first time he has blown a two-sets-to-love lead at a grand slam. His exit at Roland Garros put an end to his 39-match winning streak there. Earlier, he dropped out of the top five for the first time since 2005. There has been speculation that Nadal’s punishing style of play has exacted a heavy toll not only on his body — he has suffered wrist, knee and back injuries — but also on his confidence. The pugnacious, uber-competitive Nadal who would make his opponent work for every point seemed to have vanished. But fans can take heart: the loss to Fognini showed that that Nadal is still around.

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There are other encouraging signs that, even if Nadal never quite manages to recapture earlier heights, he can yet compete with the rest of the “big four” (Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray). His game has improved over the last few months, and at 29, Nadal is not yet old in tennis terms. Then there is precedent — Federer came through the other side of a similar slump in 2013, defying the many critics who were writing obituaries of a spectacular career. Nadal, one of the greatest of all time, can certainly do the same.