Melbourne: A year ago, Rafa Nadal was sprinting along the road to tennis immortality.
Twelve months later, the Spaniard has not so much slowed to a walk as stopped altogether.
The path ahead is suddenly not so clear, courtesy of a chronic knee injury. No-one, even Nadal, is quite sure how badly damaged the knee is.
It was bad enough to stop him from trying to defend his Wimbledon title in 2009 and bad enough for him to throw in the towel during his quarter-final against Andy Murray at the Australian Open on Tuesday night.
The match was midway through the third set and Nadal was already heading to defeat after losing the first two sets and dropping his opening serve in the third.
Nadal has built his reputation as one the fiercest competitors in the sport and he cut a forlorn figure as he hobbled to the net to shake hands with Murray, apologising for giving up.
His lame exit raised more questions about his future and could not have been any different than when he won the title in 2009, beating Roger Federer in an epic five-setter.
Federer was reduced to tears as Nadal accepted the winner`s trophy from Rod Laver, the last man to win the coveted grand slam.
It seemed a symbolic moment. As Federer sobbed in the background, the tennis world was acclaiming the arrival of the new master.
It was the fifth time Nadal had beaten Federer in the final of the grand slam.
The first three victories were at the French Open, where Nadal ruled supreme, but he had also beaten him at Wimbledon and Melbourne Park, which should have favoured the Swiss.
Federer was closing in on Pete Sampras`s record of 14 grand slams but his claim to the title of the greatest player of all time was suddenly on hold because of Nadal`s meteoric rise.
When Nadal won the Australian Open he was 22 and already had six grand titles. At the same age, Federer had just won his first grand slam title. Sampras had three.
A year later Nadal still has six and the seventh has never looked so far away.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.