Rafael Nadal only trails Roger Federer amongst all-time greats

With his 16th Grand Slam tournament title, Rafael Nadal now trails just Roger Federer as far as the all-time greats on the men’s side of the draw are concerned.

The 2017 ATP season has belonged to two men: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. A number of players have made compelling progress in their respective careers, including Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev, but Federer and Nadal continued their dominance.

As Federer and Nadal continue to be the faces of the ATP Tour, a stark reminder is being sent throughout the tennis world: They are the greatest men’s players of all-time.

This is in no way a disregarding or disrespect of the others who can lay claim to that statement. The reality of this season, however, is that Federer and Nadal have earned their status as the two greatest players in the history of the sport.

That was further established when Nadal won his 16th career Grand Slam title and his third US Open.

Some have pointed to the likes of Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras, but Nadal’s resume is now more complete than anyone but Federer’s—if it wasn’t already.

The criticism of Nadal’s success is that a vast majority of his Grand Slam titles were won on clay. However, in addition to his 10 French Open titles—more than any other player has won at any other major tournament—is a beautiful resume.

Nadal is now a three-time US Open champion, a two-time Wimbledon champion, an Australian Open champion, and an Olympic gold medalist.

Nadal is one of eight men to achieve the career Grand Slam, and one of just two men to achieve the Golden Slam.

As for the criticism of his lopsided distribution, it’s now quite unfounded. He’s won six Grand Slam events outside of the French Open, which is the same number as Djokovic has won at major tournaments other than the Australian Open.

Nadal has more US Open titles than Djokovic, an equal number of Wimbledon titles, and the Olympic gold medal that Djokovic has yet to win.

As for Federer, the Swiss superstar is now just three Grand Slam titles ahead of Nadal’s count of 16. He’s also the only player in history to win at least one Grand Slam title won in at least 10 consecutive years.

With a firm grip on the world No. 1 ranking, Nadal is also on pace to finish as the year-end No. 1 for the fourth time in his career..

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The 2017 US Open has concluded and Rafael Nadal has won his 16th career Grand Slam title. Only Roger Federer stands in his path now.