Rafael Nadal: Why Rafa's Injury History Will Cripple Him at Australian Open 2012

The 2012 Australian Open will be remembered as “what could have been” for Rafael Nadal. A history of injuries has tarnished the legacy of one of the most exciting young players in tennis, and its proof will be evident. 

For Nadal, the situation is simple: He must be known for more than his French Open dominance. While there is nothing wrong with owning a tournament, for Nadal, he’ll never be known as one of the great, well-rounded champions of all-time without more than five wins between three other Slams combined. 

Roger Federer, Nadal’s closest rival, has had little luck at the French Open, despite making it to the finals four different times. Still, Federer has had impressive runs at every other tournament in the midst of a run that might be the most dominant in the history of sports. 

However, for Federer, those days of dominant play seem long gone and it has left the door open for Nadal. After all, greatness fades and the next wave of great play shows itself. For Nadal, this should have been his time. It should have been his run where he was untouchable. 

But this time now belongs to another up-and-comer. Novak Djokovic was simply sensational last year, having won three of the four Slams and proving himself to be the next up-and-comer. While Nadal certainly was present in the title runs, he ultimately fell short at both Wimbledon and US Open.

It’s no secret that Nadal has spent a career bothered by injuries. It was an injury that forced him out of four Slams in 2003 and 2004 and most recently in 2009. He’s seemingly never had a run of good health.

Rafa is always nagging, something always sitting in the distance. It’s been his fatal flaw. Even now he's bothered by injuries. It’s allowed Federer to win more than he should have and allowed Djokovic to come up and dominate much earlier than anticipated. 

This isn’t to say that Nadal will be known as a disappointment. He’s not Bo Jackson’s NFL career. He’s not Sam Bowie. He’s been sensational. But to think of what he could have been with a clean bill of health would have been remarkable.