Roger’s Grand Slam haul seems light years away: Nadal

Rafael Nadal believes he still has a very long way to go before he can match or overtake the record haul of 17 Grand Slam singles titles amassed by his great rival Roger Federer. Spaniard Nadal won his eighth French Open crown on Sunday and having just turned 27, has 12 Grand Slam singles titles in total, including two Wimbledon crowns and triumphs at the US Open and Australian Open.

Swiss Federer, who will be 32 in August, won his last Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2012 but is still ranked third in the world and has every chance of adding at least one more before he calls time on his career. ‘It (matching Federer) is something that right now seems light-years away, something that I am not even thinking about,’ Nadal said in an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca published on Tuesday.

Asked what had helped him win his 12 Grand Slam titles, Nadal told Marca: ‘The normal. Nothing special. ‘Luckily, I have always had a team with me which has helped me in the good and the bad times. Luckily, I have had family and friends.’