Rafael Nadal: Why Rafa Will Never See Grand Slam No. 11

Rafael Nadal has won his last Grand Slam. His great career has peaked, and what is left is a rapidly aging star with his best tennis behind him. 

Nadal is still capable of playing at a very high level, he just isn't capable of maintaining this long enough to win a Grand Slam; here's why:

Injuries

Nadal is only 25, but someone should tell that to his body. It just keeps breaking down like he is trying to come back from retirement. 

At some point, you stop expecting a player to ever get healthy and just anticipate they are going to be hurt. Nadal has arrived at that point. 

Rafa suffered through an injury-plagued 2011. He was forced to battle through various injuries, and he couldn't get over chronic foot problems. 

He then cemented this fact by getting a mysterious knee injury while doing absolutely nothing. 

 Chuck Schilken offers this explanation, by Rafa, of the injury in the LA Times: 

"

I was sitting on a chair in the hotel, I felt like a crack on the knee…really strange. I stand up. I felt the knee a little bit strange. I moved the leg like this two times to try to find the feeling. After the second time, the knee stays with an unbelievable pain completely straight. I have no movement on the knee.

"

This injury is especially alarming as it came so soon after his offseason, and it leaves little hope that he will ever be healthy. 

Style Not Fit for Aging

Nadal plays a style of tennis that is suited for a young man. He relies more on quickness than on power. That quickness is going to decline much more rapidly than his power. 

Rafa simply doesn't have enough power to expect this to carry him as his quickness declines. 

Novak Djokovic

It looks like the road to any Grand Slam title is going to have to go through Djokovic for the foreseeable future. This is not good for Nadal's prospects of winning another Grand Slam.

Djokovic dominated Nadal last year, and that was in stark contrast to previous years where Rafa tormented Novak. 

The change in the dynamic indicates that the chasm between the two is going in the wrong direction to expect Nadal to be able to beat Djokovic.