Many have already called him the best, the toughest man to play against.

His competitors swear by his prowess… and critics have slowly been titling towards him…

So is Nadal ready to make a run for the title of the GOAT…. the greatest of all time?

His closest rival for this mantle remains his contemporary rival Roger Federer…. but he is quickly catching up…

Many would say he has already. Like Brad Gilbert who tweeted right after the US open final – “There’s your GOAT [Greatest of All Time]“.

And it is becoming harder to deny it.

If Federer was the King of Grass, Nadal’s the king of Clay…. And now Nadal has even created his own dominance at Wimbledon… while Federer has failed to do so in Paris.

Nadal won on grass before Federer could take the French title…

And he was also faster than Federer at holding both the French and Wimbledon trophies together, the first since Bjorn Borg.

And now Nadal has completed the full circle with all four grand slams – also faster than Fedex. Much faster. He infact is the youngest in Open Era.

But then, some of Federer’s records are unparalleled – like his 10 straight Grand Slam finals, 23 straight Grand Slam semi-finals, and of course the biggest of them all… a record 16 Grand Slam titles, more than anyone else ever…

But we all realize this is not about the number of titles.

Federer was never competing with Pete Sampras to take on the mantle of the greatest. He was always compared with Rod Laver.

Similarly, Nadal need not worry about being 7 grand slams behind Federer.

Infact, what takes Nadal slightly ahead is the fact that he has consistently dominated Federer. He’s beaten him everywhere: Wimbledon, in that final of a lifetime, Paris and Australian open.

Federer only managed to win two slam finals against Nadal at Wimbledon, at a time when the spaniard was nowhere close to his full potential.

And Nadal leads Fedex 14-7 in all time head-to-head record.

In other words, if you beat the greatest and everyone else consistently, aren’t you the greatest then?

But still I have to say that history (for now) is on Federer’s side… Nadal needs to stand the test of time a little longer to rest the case. And I have no doubt he will.

The best part is that it’s the fans who have been the most lucky. Afterall, we are watching two true legends play in the same era…. creating memories and battles to cherish for posterity.