Will Rafael Nadal rewrite tennis history in Novak Djokovic’s kingdom?

As Roland Garros is the kingdom of Rafael Nadal, so is the Australian Open the kingdom of Novak Djokovic. And it is in Melbourne that the popular Spaniard could hit two unique milestones that would indelibly mark his place in history. Can he do it?

The greatest tennis player of all time? Hardly one name can be said without hesitation. However, Rafael Nadal could easily become the best, backed up by the milestones he can now surpass at the Australian Open.

However, in Melbourne, which is otherwise the kingdom of his rival Novak Djokovic, he has only won once in his career. That was in 2009 and Rafael Nadal was only 22 years old.

It is that one win at this grand slam that partly relates to the first milestone Nadal could achieve. What is it? No one in the open era has been able to win all grand slam tournaments twice.

So Nadal could do it first with his victory this year. But it must be mentioned that Novak Djokovic is still in the game and is rightfully the favourite. Tsitsipas or Thiem are also grinding their teeth and could be suited by the fast surface.

However, it would be a setback if Nadal were to face Djokovic in a direct duel. Their last matches in Melbourne were clearly in favour of the Serbian tennis player.

And what is the second milestone that Rafael Nadal could reach? After once again dominating Roland Garros last year, he has matched Roger Federer’s Grand Slam titles. Both now hold 20 of them.

So if Nadal were to win, he would have won his 21st Grand Slam title and would therefore be the best in tennis history in terms of number of titles. Novak Djokovic now has 17, but he would definitely like to win more.

Can Rafael Nadal, as the king of clay, dominate Novak Djokovic’s kingdom and become arguably the greatest tennis player in history?

Sources: ATP Tour