Rafael Nadal Humble But Has Stunning Grand Slam Stat That Makes Him Match Novak Djokovic’s Longevity

Rafael Nadal raised eyebrows recently by admitting that his biggest rival, Novak Djokovic is indeed the greatest tennis player of all time. In that interview with Movistar+, the Spaniard honestly confessed that he regrets some decisions he took about his fitness that have impacted his career. Nadal acknowledged that it was a major factor in Djokovic overtaking him in the Grand Slam and GOAT race since the Serb is excellent with his body.

However, it seems that the hip injury has humbled Rafael Nadal more than before. The 22-time Grand Slam champion feels that winning another is a long distance away at the moment. But there is one unbelievable achievement of the Spaniard that rivals a major one of Novak Djokovic’s.

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic divide their Grand Slam counts perfectly

The statistic largely revolves around how many Grand Slams Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won before and after they turned 30. Nadal did so in June 2016 while Djokovic reached that age in May 2017. Co-incidentally, both the players won a Grand Slam nearly a year after returning from career-threatening injuries at 30.

With Novak Djokovic winning the US Open 2023, it was the 12th Grand Slam title that he clinched after he turned 30. Out of his 24, he had won 12 before he was aged 30. This count is all set to be lopsided again as Djokovic is likely to add more to this tally next year when he turns 37. So this is an all-time men’s singles record which will take years to beat or perhaps never even be broken since managing fitness is the major factor once a player gets older.

When it comes to Rafael Nadal, he has a tryst with 14-8 at the moment. Nadal has the second most Grand Slam wins after the age of 30, with that tally being 8 between June 2017-June 2022. Before June 2017, the Spaniard had won 14 Grand Slams. And in a remarkable coincidence, Nadal has won 14 French Open titles in his career so far, while the other 8 are divided amongst the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

These super numbers show that Rafael Nadal made the most of his youth, perhaps taking a leaf out of Roger Federer’s book. However, despite the pressures on his body as well as the mind by the time he turned 30, Nadal continued for 6 years and managed to remain competitive enough. So lot of credit deserves to go to the Spanish superstar, who has made a place of his own between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic’s peaks.

When Nadal won support over Tsitsipas slamming him for his lifestyle

Earlier this year, Stefanos Tsitsipas ruffled feathers by claiming that Rafael Nadal’s routines cost him his career and his lifestyle was the reason that he got injured so often. On the other hand, Tsitsipas lauded Novak Djokovic by hinting that he is extremely possessive and intelligent when it comes to his diet, recovery and fitness.

Tennis enthusiasts, especially those who support Rafael Nadal, had taken to social media to respond that if the Spaniard had a poor lifestyle, he wouldn’t have won 22 Grand Slam titles. Others said that he has had the Mueller-Weiss syndrome since his teens, which is a chronic foot injury. Another section reminded Tsitsipas that he won no Grand Slams himself so far in his career to make such comments in the first place.