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In the season of revelations, of defections, a season for all intents and purposes influenced by the absence of Novak Djokovic in Australia and the United States, only Carlos Alcaraz has managed to match the number of titles of the Serbian phenomenon.
Roland Garros aside, a war machine where he has played. Both share five tied titles, with Nadal on the bottom step of the podium tied with Félix Auger Aliassime and Andrey Rublev. In short: the number one in the world in addition to the '1000' in Miami and Indian Wells (the only one of the season to win two category events in a season of five different champions) also won in Rio de Janeiro earlier in the year and on the 'Pista Rafa Nadal' in Barcelona a historic title.
The most important success, of course, was that of the Us Open, which among other things allowed him to harpoon the first position in the ranking and finish the season right at the top. The situation is diametrically opposite for Novak Djokovic, who since Wimbledon - who has not conceded any points this year - has essentially lost a single match, including in the final against Holger Rune.
In between, Wimbledon, but also the doubles in Tel Aviv and Astana, the finals and, in the middle of the year, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, in the tournament of advances. Nadal, who won his first twenty-one games of the season, had a decidedly complicated second half of the season between physical and personal problems.
However, he consecutively won the '250' in Melbourne, the Australian Open, Acapulco and in between with a broken rib he also reached the Indian Wells final. The last title, of course, in the red brick of Roland Garros, where he got his fourteenth pearl and, obviously, added the twenty-second piece to the necklace of Slam titles.
Rusedski pays tribute to Djokovic
In that context, former US Open runner-up Greg Rusedski believes Novak Djokovic is eyeing Court's record more than Nadal's current tally. “I mean let’s not forget Martina Navratilova won her last Wimbledon title at 39 years of age so I see Novak out there if he’s healthy for another four, five years so imagine how many more Slams he’s going to have underneath his belt.
I don’t think he wants to get the men’s record, I think he wants to get the all-time record. Margaret Court 24. Serena 23, he wants to have 25," Greg Rusedski said while speaking to Prime Video. “No question about it," Rusedski said.
"He would’ve won it this year if he was allowed to play. He’s won it nine times, that’s his best Slam. There’s no question about it. Djokovic is just a step up, he’s just a world class player, he’s got all the assets, he’s got everything you need."