Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic: Historical Legacy at Stake for Each Competitor

Novak Djokovic will be competing against Rafael Nadal for the 2012 French Open championship, but they will be battling for more in a historical context.

In the open era, few have been better at the French Open than Nadal. His comfort level on the clay court has been unmatched. Instead of being aggressive, he can sit back behind the line and wait for opponents to make mistakes.

This strategy has helped the Spanish native win six titles in seven appearances. Through his eighth years at Roland Garros, Nadal has only lost one time.

His dominance at the French Open has only been matched by Bjorn Borg, who also has six career championships. With a win on Sunday, Nadal will have the record all to himself.

The amazing part is that his skill is not limited to just this court. Nadal has won each of the four major tournaments and a total of 10 Grand Slams. One more would tie Borg for third all time in the open era.

Combine his total championships with his impressive streak at the French Open, and he would make an argument for one of the best of all time.

However, his opponent is no slouch. Djokovic, the current No. 1 player in the world, has won each of the last three Grand Slam events. In the finals of each event, he defeated No. 2-ranked Nadal.

If the Serbian is able to win this final—not an easy task considering Nadal has not lost a set this tournament—he will have control of all four major titles. The only other person in the open era to win the Australian Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open and French Open consecutively was Rod Laver in 1969. 

This feat should not be taken lightly. A win would signify a great amount of dominance over the sport for the entire year. Plus, a fourth straight win over Nadal in a Grand Slam final would give him all the confidence in the world the next time they compete.

Djokovic and Nadal are only 25 and 26 respectively. There is plenty of time for either one of them to take the sport by storm and rack up even more victories in these tournaments.

Their accomplishments should not be taken lightly, as fans might be witnessing some of the greatest performers in the history of tennis.