Rafael Nadal: Rust, Burnt Fingers Won't Keep Nadal from Title

We live in a world today where we know everything that happens as soon as it happens. This is true in pretty much all walks of life, at least as it relates to celebrities. That's not entirely bad. But what it tends to do is make us over-analyze everything that happens to anyone that has a name we're vaguely familiar with.

In the case of Rafael Nadal, we're now looking at the fact that he hasn't played well since losing the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic. We're also looking too deep into the fact that he burned his fingers at a restaurant, which will mean that Nadal will need to play with taped fingers.

As far as the rust goes, don’t buy the hype. Nadal's always been a player that gears his game toward the grand slams. Every now and again, that means that top players will struggle between the grand slams. It just doesn't mean that much.

Granted, you never want to have anything invested on a player that looks cold, but Nadal has never had seasons like Novak Djokovic is in the middle of.

As far as the burnt fingers and tape, that won't matter. He may not be used to it, but that won't hurt him in the early round matches. By the time he gets to the more difficult matches, the tape won't be too much of an adjustment.

That's not necessarily predicting that Nadal will win. He is my pick to win the US Open, but I am not going to guarantee it.

Other players may well stand in the way of Nadal. Andy Murray has played well since Wimbledon. Roger Federer played a flat opening match, but still won in a dominating way. Djokovic would wrap up one of the best seasons in the sport's history with a win.

Additionally, Nadal has never successfully defended a grand slam that wasn’t the French Open. Clay is certainly his top court. While he’s not one dimensional, Nadal is far more vulnerable on other surfaces.

There are plenty of reasons to pick against Nadal. I am not saying that you’re crazy if you don’t think he’ll win. What I am saying is that we’re being too over-analytical. When we’re trying to figure out a player’s chances at winning a grand slam, looking at their recent grand slam history is the best determinant.

Since missing Wimbledon in 2009, Nadal has never failed to reach the quarterfinal of a grand slam. He’s made three semifinals (or better) in a row at the US Open, punctuated by his win in 2010.

Nadal is the reigning US Open champion and historically a fantastic grand slam player. Counting him out because of an unimpressive month and a half of tennis and some finger injuries is just not paying attention to the rest of his career.

Obviously, time will tell just how well Nadal will do. But he has a gear that few other players in the history of the game have had.

There are other great players going now, but they all have question marks, just like Nadal. Can he lose? Yes, of course. He just needs to encounter one hot opponent and that’s taken care of.

But if he loses, will it be because of the rust he’s shown or the burnt fingers? That’s doubtful!