Rafa, King of the Castle

Rafa Nadal's victory at the US Open was a watershed in men's tennis and it puts to bed any lingering critics who questioned his
mantle of World Number One.

The US Open was the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments Nadal had failed to win. By winning it he joins an elite group of six other Career Grand Slam winners: Fred Perry (GB) 1933-1935, Don Budge (US) 1937-1938, Rod Laver (Aus) 1960-1962, Roy Emerson (Aus) 1961-1964, Andre Agassi (US) 1992-1999, Roger Federer (Swiss) 2003-2009.

And there will be more to come.

A comparison with Roger Federer's Grand Slam record shows that Rafa could be entering into a spell of supreme dominance. Federer had five Grand Slams to his name before his 24^th birthday: he has since picked up eleven more. Having just turned 24 in June Nadal has already tasted Slam success nine times.

The numbers are staggering. The great John McEnroe "only" won seven Slams in his entire career.

Rafa Nadal’s Grand Slam Career Record

Year/Slam	Australian	French	Wimbledon	U.S.	W-L	Age
2002	Ab	Ab	Ab	Ab	0-0	15
2003	Ab	Ab	3R	2R	3-2	16
2004	3R	Ab	Ab	2R	3-2	17
2005	4R	W	2R	3R	13-3	18
2006	Ab	W	F	QF	17-2	19
2007	QF	W	F	4R	20-3	20
2008	SF	W	W	SF	24-2	21
2009	W	4R	Ab	SF	15-2	22
2010	QF	W	W	W	25-1	23
Success	1/6	5/6	2/6	1/8	9-26
Win–Loss	25-5	38-1	29-4	28-4	120-17
Win %	83.33	97.44	87.87	80.00	87.57

Roger Federer Grand Slam Career Record

Year/Slam	Australian	French	Wimbledon	U.S.	W-L	Age
1998	Ab	Ab	Ab	Ab	0-0	16
1999	LQ	1R	1R	LQ	0-2	17
2000	3R	4R	1R	3R	7-4	18
2001	3R	QF	QF	4R	14-4	19
2002	4R	1R	1R	4R	6-4	20
2003	4R	1R	W	4R	13-3	21
2004	W	3R	W	W	22-1	22
2005	SF	SF	W	W	24-2	23
2006	W	F	W	W	27-1	24
2007	W	F	W	W	26-1	25
2008	SF	F	F	W	24-3	26
2009	F	W	W	F	26-2	27
2010	W	QF	QF	SF	20-3	28
Success	4/11	1/12	6/12	16/46	16/46
Win–Loss	54-7	43-11	55-6	208-30	208-30
Win %	88.52	79.63	90.16	87.39	87.39

*Ab= absent, LQ=lost in qualifying round, all others show exit from tournament

When it comes to commentary on the modern game, in depth comparisons between Nadal and Federer are as difficult to avoid as they are plentiful. I'll let the charts speak for themselves.

Although the Swiss maestro is entering the twilight of this career his consistency over the last six years remains something to behold and will be difficult for anyone to replicate. But Nadal is trying his best to do so – most visibly this year in winning the three Slams on the trot. 

Should Nadal remain injury free (which is not a certainty given events of 2009 and previously) there is little doubt he will eclipse the records of his masterful rival.

Nadal vs Federer: number of victories in competitive play

Surface	Nadal	Federer
Hard Court	3	3
Grass Court	1	2
Clay Court	10	4
Total	14	7

Nadal vs Federer: matches in Grand Slams

Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score	Time
2005	French Open	Clay	Semi Final	Nadal	6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3	2:47
2006	French Open	Clay	Final	Nadal	1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4)	3:02
2006	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Federer	6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3	2:58
2007	French Open	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4	3:10
2007	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Federer	7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2	3:45
2008	French Open	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–1, 6–3, 6–0	1:48
2008	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Nadal	6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7	4:48
2009	Australian Open	Hard	Final	Nadal	7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2	4:23
Total	Nadal 6 – Federer 2