Will Nadal only be remembered as best clay court player of all time?

if nadal has won wimbledon 2 - 3 times and has won the US OPEN 1 and also the Australin open 1

he is also a great player on other surfaces

not just the best on clay

for sure he is better on clay then anyone in the field though

Right now Djovick has the edge over both nadal and federer

he can play much more fluently and less stressed on his body

federer is getting older... his all court game is not as effective

nadals game is tooo hard on his body.. even with adjustments to it

so we shall see what happens

I agree with Dem2008 .

Nadal, even more than Djokovic, is all about power play. A human body can take only that much strain & tension & power. So I, like many others did not actually believe that Nadal was going to do another Federer. And he has slowed down after his knee surgery.

Federer's game is more measured, versatile & Skill.

So, while Novak is on a high this year & may roll on to the next too, his stint may be a relatively short one too. Eventually, all this power game takes its toll on the body & one is only aging every subsequent year.

However, now that Federer's & Nadal's level has decreased slightly, & Murray still falls woefully short, Novak seems to be the only one who will continue to carry on for a few years as #1 - some of it by default. Even talented players like Tsonga & Soderling are not consistent.

Mardy Fish, though, does seem to have quite some potential. Maybe we'll see Mardy more often in finals?

Also, do not forget, that Novak has beaten Nadal on clay this year !

But I would tend to agree with you that "King of Clay" title deservedly goes to Nadal .

While I do not like his on-court mannerisms, I do concede his humility & modesty off-court.

Not only. He will also be known as the greatest NUMBER TWO player of all time. His two years at #1 were transition years between the Federer era and the Djokovic era. He will finish #2 FIVE times once 2011 is done, and I feel he will finish #2 again next year.

Sure, he still has a couple of years of good tennis left, but he looks aged and just a tad slower than his 19-year-old self. Djokovic owns him for sure right now, on every surface imaginable. Nadal is lucky that Federer was able to play so well in the semifinal in Roland Garros. Otherwise, Djokovic would have won that match and won the GRAND SLAM this year, all four majors.

Next year, 31 year old Fed will have an even tougher time holding to his astronomical standards in majors, and Djokovic has another shot at the Grand Slam. Djokovic has another year of #1 left in him. After that, I think his body will be too worn out.

But he's only 25, still plenty of time to get more GS's under his belt. Djokovic is only a year younger than Nadal but has only 4 GS's I think (?)

I am afraid, Rafa is going to be remembered for his butt alone. Even now when we talk about him, we always call him the guy that touches his butt/balls all the time.

Nadal to me is remembered as the player that thwarted Federer's French Open titles. (shame on you, Soderling)