bwin Sportsblog - Tennis - A true legend of the game

If Rafael Nadal wins the Australian Open then he will become the first player since Rod Laver to hold all four slams at the same time. This makes Nadal a legend already even to come so close to doing so. It is rare to have two absolute legends of the game in the same era but it has happened before. In fact there were several instances in the men’s game. We had Borg and Connors in the 1970’s and then we also had McEnroe in the same era as well. Then we had Becker and Lendl in the 1980’s. In the 1990’s we were fortunate enough to have Sampras and Agassi. Then we had Federer and Nadal in the 2000’s. Maybe it needs two really great players at the same time for each player to raise the bar in performance. I think some of Federer’s best tennis has come against Nadal and vice versa. It would be amazing if Nadal won the Australian Open and I think that he stands a great chance of reaching Federer’s total of slam titles. Now that he is fit again and also winning Wimbledon on grass then there isn’t a single slam that you do not fancy him to win. As for Andy Murray, well he certainly has the game to win a slam for sure but he has to conquer one very big hurdle for me and this is to do with his own psyche. I think he goes defensive at key pressure moments deep into tournaments and looks for his opponents to make mistakes rather than actively go out to create them. To be a true great then you simply cannot have this mindset in the slightest. The clock is ticking now for Murray to win his slam and while he is at the peak of his game, he really does not have that many opportunities as the French doesn’t suit him and Wimbledon is terribly pressured for him.