For about a year and a half, the attention Rafael Nadal is put in chronic injury that he has in his left foot, in everything he does not to hurt him and, also, in everything he has achieved since then. The world of sport talks about his deeds on the field and the comparisons – not always hateful – appear, for example, with other great athletes of all time such as Usain Bolt and his eight Olympic gold medals plus his three world records; Michael Phelps and his 28 Olympic medals; Simone Biles and his 32 Olympic and world podiums; Tiger Woods and his 683 weeks as world number 1 or Lewis Hamilton and his seven world titles and 103 Grands Prix won in Formula 1 (the list could be extended to satisfy the consumer, of course).

The point for analysis is because Nadal is who he is or achieved what he achieved on clay, the surface on which he became by far the greatest of all time and not just because of his 14 Roland crowns. Garros – where he only lost three of his 112 games, but because he has 63 titles out of a total of 92 on that track and because there he has an ERA record of over 91%. That means: the numbers fully support this statement.

But the case here is to say that Nadal is the player who defends best on slow courts or, better, the one with a superior balance between defense and attack. His backhand defense can only be compared to Djokovic’s and his deep, deep forehand defense allows him to jump into an offensive stance right after hitting that shot. It is unmatched in that aspect of the game.

It has never been seen in the history of this sport how well Nadal performs from the most uncomfortable positions and how well he hits the ball while running to neutralize the opponent’s initiative.

It’s clear those high and spin defenses don’t have the same performance on hardcourt or grass, but Nadal still won Australia twice, Flushing Meadows four times and celebrated twice at Wimbledon.

But it is only the defense that makes the Majorcan the best of all time on clay and the player who, according to his compatriot and former top ten player Nicolás Almagro in the middle of the quarter-finals of Roland Garros 2008, would win in Paris “40 years in a row and you will be 65 and you will keep winning “?

Obviously not! Nadal has reached the top because he has been able to reinvent himself over time. If you review the final against Mariano Puerta in 2005 and compare it with those played on Sunday against Djokovic and Federer or against Casper Ruud himself, you will see a different player. This Nadal is faster, goes more attacking with reverse drive and cross and improves his backhand with slice and volley.

But what hasn’t improved because it’s in his DNA and has always been a feature of his game it’s the claw and its competitive spirit. For Nadal, 5-0 and 40-0 up is the same as 5-0 and 40-0 down. He will always fight for the point and this thanks to a very strong mentality with which he knows how to exploit the important moments. And even more: Nadal transforms unimportant moments into important moments. And there he also marks the difference with the rest.

Tony Pena, one of the men who know tennis best in Argentina, was recently asked to put together his ideal player. He has listed the successes of many greats in history and has not left the logic that many might think. But he made a clarification: “The ideal tennis player can be played, but Rafael Nadal, on clay, would be the most difficult to face”.