The Nadal vs. Federer best of all time debate heats up after Rafa wins sixth French Open

After Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer of the French Open last Sunday, the debate began over which of these champions is the greatest male player of all time.

Even though Federer has a record 16 grand slam championships versus 10 for Nadal, some feel that his 17-8 record over Federer ranks him above the Swiss superstar.

I can’t agree because 11 of Nadal’s victories against Federer have come on clay. He is most certainly a better clay court player than Federer but what would the head-to-head record be if they played just as many times on grass, hardcourt or on an indoor surface?

Nadal is no slouch on the indoor surfaces with two Wimbledon crowns as well as one title each at the US Open and Australian Open. But Federer has six Wimbledon victories, five US Open crowns and four Australian Open titles.

I think time will tell. If Nadal can continue to rack up grand slam titles (he’s won four out of the last five), he very well surpass Federer. But it’s not inevitable and a lot can happen between then and now. To get to Federer, he still has to pass the amount of slam titles won by Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg (11), Roy Emerson (12) and Pete Sampras (14).

Wimbledon starts in 10 days and whoever wins there will certainly strengthen their claim to the claim of being the greatest of all time.