Is It The End of Fedal?

First and foremost, let's answer the question I put forth in the title. Is it the end of Fedal (Federer-Nadal for you non-tennis fans)? Well, yes... and hell no. Well, that was clear. In reality the answer isn't as black and white as a simple yes or a simple no.

Yes, gone are the days when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are playing each other in finals sharing the majority of titles in the ATP tour while others play for scraps. This year alone, they only have four titles total heading into the US Open, which I believe is the lowest tally it's ever been. They both entered Toronto and Cincinnati this month to prep for the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, and walked away title-less collectively compiling a dismal 5-4 record. In fact, they both lost today in Cincinnati in straight sets. On top of this, their biggest competition is no longer each other, but Novak Djokovic, the best player on tour right now and who, as I write this, is 56-1 with a 7-1 record against Federer and Nadal this year.

So while their era of absolute dominance may have passed, underestimating these two would be just absolutely ridiculous. They are still both ranked in the top 3 and own 26 Grand Slam titles total. In fact one of those wins came just two months ago when Nadal won the French Open against... Federer. The match before, Federer took out... Djokovic, becoming the only player this year to defeat the "unbeatable" Serb. Federer was also the last person to defeat Djokovic before he went on his amazing winning streak.

Dominant? Probably not. Dangerous? You better believe it! And while Djokovic is the clear favorite at the upcoming US Open, Nadal is still the defending champion and Federer has won the tournament five times. Things can still change in a New York minute especially in tennis.