Nadal-Federer Linked Now and Forever

NEW YORK - They love Roger Federer now. He has become a superstar athlete, and that's not just about skills. A few years ago, he was the greatest athlete no one ever thought about.

So what changed? The records, sure, that helped, I guess.

But the big thing that turned Federer into a superstar is this: Rafael Nadal.

---

---

Federer and Nadal both played Wednesday at the U.S. Open, which is a little redundant, because anything one of them does is directly related to the other. Both won. This is not only the greatest individual rivalry in sport, but also a symbiotic relationship.

And the best news for Federer Wednesday was that Nadal not only said that his knees don't hurt anymore (I don't believe it), but also made a legitimate case for the first time for why his style of play was not necessarily the reason his knees started to hurt.

And if you believe him -- he was almost convincing -- then you can have hope he might be around for a while afterall.

Federer needs him for his spot in history, a spot Nadal has raised dramatically.

"Potentially," Federer said. "I think this is stuff you can talk about when my career is over, really. [That] is when you analyze, OK, how much did Rafa Nadal help my career and how much did I help his."

Well, Federer was asked the other day about chasing Bill Tilden's record six straight Open titles. Fed has won five in a row.

And he gave a nice answer, saying that's why he's here. But it's not. Tilden was an icon in his time, but Federer is hardly chasing a ghost from the 1920s.

"I've never met Bill Tilden, never saw him play," he said. "So it's hard to kind of relate to him in any way, you know."

This year, Federer has made his mark in history, winning his first French Open, and later, at Wimbledon, his 15th major title. That one gave him the record.

But is he really the greatest ever? That's still to be decided, and it's based on what happens with Nadal.

Ali needed Frazier. Navratilova and Evert needed each other. The Yankees and Red Sox, too. Nicklaus actually had multiple rivals, who built him up.

These aren't just fun rivalries to watch, but also necessary for the athletes.

The problem with Federer's claim as the greatest of all time (GOAT) is that Pete Sampras won 14 majors in a generation with far more champions surrounding him. Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Michael Chang, and more.

Who has Federer beaten?

His friend, Tiger Woods, has the same problem, though Woods hasn't caught Nicklaus' major record. Nicklaus beat up on Palmer, Watson, Trevino, Miller. Woods did not.

The only real measure for GOATs is how badly they beat up on their own era and how good that era was.

Nadal saved this era for Federer. And if Nadal goes on to prolonged greatness, then Federer will have saved it for him.

Now, they are in one place again, at a major for the first time since Nadal stepped away a few months for knee tendinitis. The rivalry starts up again.

And Federer needs to keep winning.

You cannot go down as the best in history if you can't beat your rival. And Nadal had passed Federer, owned him, before getting hurt.

If this is it for Nadal, and his style doesn't allow the pain to go away in his knees, then he's always going to be an asterisk for Federer.

So is this rivalry going to last?

"I don't have pain," Nadal said after beating Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round. Federer beat Simon Gruel 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 in the second round.

Nadal moved decently, but the match wasn't much of a test on his knees. Gasquet didn't keep the ball in play long enough to see whether Nadal could plant on the left side.

"I am watching a lot of players with bandage on the knees," Nadal said. "Not only me. So maybe somebody has to think about that, for what reason we have [a] lot of injuries in the knees, and nobody to say why."

Nadal has remained defensive about his all-out approach on every shot. And he has a point: others with more traditional styles do have knee problems. But that doesn't make his style any less violent on his body.

The Open is the one major Nadal hasn't won, and a theory has been that it was because the beatings have added up by this time of the year.

"I am more fresh [this year], yeah," he said. "Fresher than ever in this tournament. I don't know if this kind of fresh is good. And no excuses [for] the past. . .

"The truth is every year I play a little bit better, no? I did semifinal last year, and here, trying to improve."

Federer can only hope.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com