Rafael Nadal of Spain waves to the crowd as he leaves the court after his match against Fabio Fognini of Italy. Fognini won 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
It was earlier this week when Rafael Nadal made a very interesting and prescient statement at this US Open.
Speaking of himself and his longtime rival Roger Federer, the 29-year-old Nadal said: “You know, don’t forget that for everybody [there] is a start and for everybody is an end. We still here, but tomorrow we not going to be here.
“[Pete] Sampras was here. He’s not here anymore. [Jimmy] Connors, [John] McEnroe, everybody pass. The sport continues.”
The US Open will now continue without Nadal after he blew a two sets to love lead on Italian Fabio Fognini and crashed out in the third round, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 .
Fognini will go on to face Feliciano Lopez, meaning there will be no blockbuster Nadal-Novak Djokovic quarterfinal on Tuesday night.
And there certainly won’t be a Nadal-Federer final on Sept. 13.
The two have never met at the US Open, and it’s looking increasingly likely that they never will.
This year marks the first time since 2004 that Nadal hasn’t won a Major. He captured the first of his nine Roland Garros titles in 2005 and his 14 Majors are now tied for second all-time behind Federer’s 17.
Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal both have 14 majors. Will either ever win another? Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
It may have been appropriate that Tiger Woods — who once was friendly with Federer before Tiger’s marital infidelities caused Fed to distance himself from Woods — sat in Nadal’s player’s box. The two men both have 14 Majors, but will either ever get to 15?
That seems a more than fair question considering both men’s recent struggles.
This year Nadal lost to Tomas Berdych in the Australian Open quarterfinals, to Djokovic in the French Open quarterfinals and then to American qualifier Dustin Brown in the second round of Wimbledon.
“The only thing this means is I played worse than the last 10 years,” the 14-time grand slam winner said. “That’s the real thing. By the way, for me it was amazing to win 10 years in a row a Grand Slam.
“You can imagine how difficult it is to make that happen. I have to accept that it was not my year and keep fighting till the end of the season to finish in a positive way.”
Federer, of course, remains alive at the Open and plays his third-round match Saturday afternoon against Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The 34-year-old hasn’t won a Major since Wimbledon in 2012, and if he doesn’t win here it will be the first year since 2002 that neither Federer nor Nadal captures a Grand Slam title.
While Nadal has labored this summer, the Swiss Maestro has looked masterful, beating Andy Murray and Djokovic in back-to-back matches to win in Cincinnati.
But that was a best-of-3 sets scenario and the US Open is, of course, best-of-5.
Is the Federer-Nadal Era officially over?
Roger, the ball is in your court.
