Vamos! 3 Reasons Rafael Nadal will win the Australian Open

Rafael Nadal is cruising through this year’s Australian Open. Having not dropped a set yet, can anyone stop the Spanish raging bull?

The Australian Open 2021 has reached beyond its halfway point, and players in the men’s singles are starting to feel the fatigue of best of 5-set matches. World number 2 Rafael Nadal may not be “bagel-ing” his opponents, but he is producing results which make him a formidable contender for the Grand Slam title. Here are 3 reasons the Spaniard will be taking the title this year:

1. Superior Physical Prowess

Rafael Nadal is notorious for his high-level of physical strength and athleticism on the court, which comes from his unique style of play which requires top-tier footwork and significant muscular engagement. While he may not have the strongest serve or the best backhand in the game, the Spaniard more than makes up for this by taking rallies to the next level and really going the distance for each point.

Evidently, through his matches leading up to the quarter-finals, Rafael Nadal has not had the greatest service games, in fact, from the second-round onwards, the Spaniard’s opponent has always served more aces than him. Nonetheless, Nadal converted his rallies into games, perfectly maintaining the upper-hand in stats when it came to first and second serve win-percentages, reflecting on his superior baseline and return-of-serve abilities.

2. The Uncertainty of Novak Djokovic

Unlike Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic has dropped several sets throughout the tournament, which is a big deal considering his specialty on the hard court surface. Furthermore, his third round match against Taylor Fritz, which went to 5 sets, may be an indication to the Serbian’s lacking performance at Melbourne Park.

Also interesting to note, is that Novak Djokovic has been on the receiving end of over 20 aces in each of his last 3 matches, despite his opponents not necessarily being the biggest servers in the game. Another indication of the world number one’s doubtful performance is that he has had four tie-break sets in his last 3 matches, one of which he conceded against Frances Tiafoe.

While 8-time Australian Open champion is struggling with the possibility of injury, controversy surrounding medical timeouts and exhaustively close matches, Rafael Nadal is winning in a relatively stress-free manner, has shown no signs of injury and is yet to overexert himself in a match. Weighing up these factors on both ends, it may well be that Rafael Nadal will not be threatened by Novak Djokovic for the title this year.

3. Grand Slam GOAT within reach

Perhaps the most important point of all, is that Rafael Nadal has the title of undisputed Grand Slam Greatest Of All Time at his fingertips, a status he has yet to achieve even after equalizing the world record with Roger Federer. While Nadal has a significnt lead on Federer in their head-to-head rivalry (24-16 in Nadal’s favor), the Spaniard has the opportunity now to separate himself from the Swiss Maestro for good, and reach a height of professional men’s tennis unseen before.

While Rafael Nadal seldom mentions his desire for statistical record-breaking glory, the humble King of Clay will no doubt be able to draw motivation from his potential 21st Grand Slam lingering over him. More importantly still, is that the Australian Open is the only major the Spaniard has not won more than once, and upon winning, he will be the first to reach 21 Grand Slams and at least two titles for each Slam.

With exceptional athletic abilities, potential doubts surrounding Novak Djokovic and never-before-seen world records on the line, Rafael Nadal has all the odds in his favor to win the Australian Open 2021. There is now less than a week till the finals, look forward to it!