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The mother of all comebacks for the Nadal eclipses Federer’s…
The mother of all comebacks for the Nadal eclipses Federer’s…
The three greatest tennis players of this millennium — and arguably of all time — have contrasting personas and styles. But what Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer have in common is winning Grand Slams when they’ve been all but written off. That’s what great champions do.
Federer had not won a single Grand Slam title for five years when he beat Nadal in five sets in the 2017 Australian Open final. Djokovic had a two-year hiatus after winning the Australian and French Opens in 2016, losing in early rounds at Grand Slam events. Then he beat Nadal 10-8 in the fifth set of the 2018 Wimbledon semifinal and went on to win the title.
The mother of all comebacks for the Nadal eclipses Federer’s…
Nadal’s feat in winning his year’s Australian Open final rivals what Federer did to him in 2017 or even goes one notch higher on the jaw-dropping scale. Both champions were 35 years old and playing against younger opponents, after coming off six-month injury layoffs. Nadal even had a break from practice in December when he was down with a Covid attack.
So it wasn’t a surprise that the computerised win predictor at the Australian Open put the odds of Daniil Medvedev beating Rafael Nadal in the final at 64-36 at the outset. That became 96-4 after Medvedev won the first two sets. The Russian world No.2, who had stopped Djokovic from becoming the first man to win a 21st Grand Slam title in the US Open final a few months earlier, looked set to do the same to Nadal at the Australian Open.
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Even to human analysts, the year’s first Grand Slam event on a hard court could at best have been a warm-up for Nadal ahead of the French Open, where the clay courts are his favourite surface. The surgical procedure to ameliorate his chronic ankle injury, after his loss to Djokovic in last year’s French Open semifinal, hadn’t been fully tested yet. He appeared ginger on his feet in the early rounds, and adopted a riskier approach to keep rallies short, much like Federer had done in his comeback year in 2017.
Nadal dropped only one set in the first four rounds before his first big test in the quarterfinals against the Canadian upstart, Denis Shapovalov, who had beaten the Olympic gold medalist and world No.3 Alexander Zverev. It was Nadal’s five-set victory over Shapovalov that drew attention to a real possibility of him being the first to break the tie with Djokovic and Federer.
The mother of all comebacks for the Nadal eclipses Federer’s…
Djokovic had caught up with Nadal and Federer when he won his 20th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last year. It was widely expected he would pull ahead of his arch-rivals, being a year younger than Nadal, and in prime form. But he lost to Medvedev in the US Open final and then got deported from Australia for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid, losing the opportunity to defend the title he had won back-to-back in the previous three years.
Can we expect more from him? We probably can, with Roland Garros beckoning, where he has won an incredible 13 French Open titles. The lower bounce and slower courts will suit him better, although it remains to be seen if he will be able to slide in retrieving shots with as much facility as earlier, given his dodgy ankle.
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His main challenger is likely to be clay court specialist Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost to Djokovic in last year’s final after being two sets up. Djokovic too may be back to defend his title, if he can resolve his vaccination issues.
Federer followed up his 2017 comeback in the Australian Open with a Wimbledon title and another Australian Open title the following year. Djokovic had a dream run in 2021 with three Grand Slam titles after his comeback at Wimbledon in 2018.
So, the chances are that Nadal will have more Grand Slam titles before he’s done. Djokovic can still push him for the record. Federer, who turned 40 last year, appears out of the race. But you can never say with these three champions.
A former Ferrari engineer has criticised the decision to bring in Lewis Hamilton and thinks the Brit’s presence will mean “a lot of potential for drama”.
At the age of 40, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton will form a formidable driver partnership with Charles Leclerc. His big switch comes at the expense of Carlos Sainz, who has performed well for the Italian squad but who was axed so they had room for their blockbuster new signing.
But not everyone of a Ferrari persuasion is convinced that it will go well. Ernest Knoors, who spent many years as an engineer at Maranello, specialising in power units, worries that Hamilton’s presence could do more harm than good for a team that is finding its groove under Frederic Vasseur.
“A big name like Hamilton also brings a lot of politics and if politics within Ferrari are not managed well, then there is a lot of potential for drama,” he told Formule1.nl. “Hamilton has the tendency that if things do not work out, he turns his whole car upside down and starts experimenting.
“Ferrari believes very much in the big personalities and will follow him. But Hamilton is just someone you have to guide a little bit and not give the freedom to rebuild the whole car, because then it will go completely wrong. So I do not know if it is such a smart move, but of course it is nice for the sport.”
News of Hamilton’s planned move broke on February 1, coinciding with football’s Transfer Deadline Day. That the back pages of many newspapers were dominated by the decision of Hamilton to swap Mercedes for Ferrari was testament to the magnitude of the announcement.
Sainz was not surprised as he had been informed by his team of the plan ahead of it being made public. But the Spaniard responded well with two victories to date this season and five further appearances on the podium, on the way to what looks likely to be a fifth-placed finish in the championship – two spots and 54 points ahead of Hamilton.
Sainz has signed for Williams next year and, after several years of running at the front of the grid, will focus on his new challenge of helping restore one of the grid’s most historic teams to its former glory. But Knoors believes he should have been kept on by Ferrari instead.
The Dutchman added: “I see Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari more as a PR move. With all due respect, Hamilton is not going to take that Ferrari from P6 to P1. He will get the most out of it, but what Ferrari has to do is make that car faster. And if you make that car faster, you can easily drive at the front with the current line-up.
“Besides, as a team you have to look further on the horizon. If Hamilton becomes champion in the coming years, he and Ferrari will become immortal. But if you want to build a team with talent for the next five years, are you going to build on Hamilton? No, because he will really be finished after two or three years. That is why I would have kept the very strong line-up that Ferrari has now.”
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Chase Elliott had a front-row seat for one of NASCAR’s most bizarre moments of the 2024 Cup Series season. At the start of Stage 2, the pace car dove onto pit road in front of Elliott; however, it was a tad too late. The pace car made contact with the sand barrels at the entry of pit road and caused a red flag for cleanup.
Initially, there was some speculation on the NBC Sports broadcast, even from the No. 9 team, that Elliott made contact with the pace car. Fortunately, the pace car didn’t slide across the No. 9 car’s nose, but it undoubtedly provided one of NASCAR’s craziest red flag moments in recent memory.
Below, you can listen to Elliott and the No. 9 team react to the pace car crashing into the sand barrels on pit road at Phoenix during Championship Weekend!
Reflecting on the recent retirement of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt didn’t mince words about the toll NASCAR takes on its drivers. Speaking candidly, the two-time Daytona 500 winner admitted that the pressure to perform every week left him feeling miserable for most of his racing career—a sentiment he believes is shared by many of his peers.
“Right or wrong, racing made me a miserable person 90% of the time,” Earnhardt confessed. “And him too. I mean, ask Kyle Busch, ask anybody—unless you’re winning, you’re not happy.”
For these elite drivers, the sport is a relentless grind. A podium finish might bring temporary relief, but anything short of victory is often a source of frustration. The immense effort poured into preparation and execution rarely feels like it pays off unless the checkered flag is theirs.
Earnhardt highlighted the mental toll of falling short, explaining how the relentless focus on winning can overshadow the joy of simply competing. Even a solid performance feels hollow compared to the euphoria of a win.
“Unless you’re winning, you’re not happy at all,” he said. “You’re okay with a good run, but for the most part, all the effort it takes just to run good—it doesn’t weigh out.”
For drivers, the stakes are sky-high every week. Sponsors, fans, and teams demand nothing less than excellence, leaving little room for error or personal satisfaction in anything less than a dominant performance.
Earnhardt also shared insights into his friendship with Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced his retirement. While the two often spend time hunting together during NASCAR’s off-season, Earnhardt noted that the stress of racing even creeps into their leisure activities.
“When I’m with him during hunting season, it’s always in the back of his mind,” Earnhardt said. “It’s that stressful part of the year when he’s as miserable as he’s going to be.”
Now, with Truex stepping away from the track, Earnhardt looks forward to seeing a lighter, happier version of his long-time friend. Without the weight of weekly competition hanging over him, Truex might finally be able to relax and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle he cherishes.
“It’ll be fun to see him loosen up,” Earnhardt added.
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