Australian Open 2021: Rafael Nadal eyes the GOAT spot in Melbourne

With Roger Federer out of the question for this year’s AO title, the odds are now in favor of the remaining Big 3 members, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

In 2020, Rafael Nadal achieved sporting history by not only securing his record breaking 13th French Open title, but also equalizing his Grand Slam record with Roger Federer and sparking further GOAT debates. With Nadal looking to put on his best performance at the 2021 Australian Open coupled with the absence of Roger Federer, the Spaniard now must overcome the likes of Novak Djokovic as well as other key players to secure a dream 21st Grand Slam title.

With the Australian Open just around the corner, the world’s top players are currently in quarantine preparing for the big tournament. As controversies and public opinion continue to spark around Novak Djokovic’s comments on social media regarding isolation conditions, fans of the Big 3 may be swaying their support towards the more conservative Rafael Nadal ahead of the Melbourne major, who bounced back with the following comments:

"“In Adelaide, conditions have been better than most players in Melbourne,” the Spaniard said. “But there are players in Melbourne who have larger rooms where they can develop physical activities, others have smaller rooms and can’t have contact with their coach and their physical trainer. Where’s the line? It’s an ethical issue. Everyone has their own opinion and they are all respectable.”"

Rafael Nadal’s response revealed his open-mindedness on the situation and encouraged more critical thinking among players and fans alike. Rather than firing back at accusations that he is having it easier in quarantine, the Spaniard accepted that the conditions are indeed better in Adelaide in certain ways, but that it does not reveal the full story or reality of the situation, encouraging support and respect between players.

Nevertheless, with COVID-19 restrictions still in place, support from the crowd will have little to no effect at this year’s Australian Open, and neither Nadal nor Djokovic can bank on that being a factor for victory. To make matters worse, these two GOAT contenders will have a squadron of talented rising stars such as Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev to get through before they can consider meeting on the court.

In the fairly likely event that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic meet on the court at some point, the Spaniard will surely be met as the underdog of the bout, for several reasons. In terms of head-to-head statistics, Djokovic has bested the Spaniard 14 times in their last 20 match encounters, while Nadal has triumphed in their last encounter at the French Open 2020.

While it is still difficult to make a final prediction, the odds are tremendously in favor of Novak Djokovic, who has proven to have the upperhand many times on hard court, and his overall rivalry with Rafael Nadal truly demonstrates his dominance over the Spaniard on this surface. Most notably, the Serbian’s victory at last year’s Australian Open is testimony to this, when for the first time ever, Nadal was defeated in straight sets in a Grand Slam final.

Despite the odds in Novak’s favor, the 2021 Australian Open will nonetheless provide a platform of opportunity for the King of Clay to reach a historical Grand Slam world-record in men’s singles tennis. Rafael Nadal will certainly remain unphased by the odds, and regardless of speculation and predictions, one thing is for certain, we are in for one entertaining Australian Open.