World's no.2 and reigning US Open champion Rafael Nadal might have won the admiration of the tennis world following his remarkable comeback run from knee injury this season, but one writer was bold enough to tackle on the suspected involvement of drugs behind the Spaniard's recent success.
Nadal, who swept the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters before bludgeoning his way to his second US Open Championship of his career, has been the alpha dog of the hard court season so far. His 22-game winning streak on the surface is already terrific, but the way he won these matches made him even greater.
From singer Justin Timberlake to Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol to one of his fiercest competitor in Andy Murray, everybody seemed to love the 27-year old Nadal, whom many analysts viewed as the successor to the Roger Federer's throne.
However, despite all the remarkable things Nadal accomplished throughout the year, he just couldn't please everybody. Just ask sports writer Jonathan Mahler.
Mahler, who worked for Bloomberg and author of the best "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, didn't mince any word in detailing his perception about Nadal's use of drugs to help him win major tournaments.
"Rafael Nadal is back in the U.S. Open finals tonight, which can mean only one thing: He's on drugs!," said Mahler in the opening line of his article 'Let's Hope Drugs Prolong Rafael Nadal's Great Career.'
Mahler went on to detail Nadal's amazing year of tennis after a seven-month long rehabilitation, calling it a too-good-to-be-true story.
"Most of all, there's the too-good-to-be-true story of Nadal's comeback from injury. After losing in the second round at Wimbledon in 2012 to a competitor ranked 100th in the world, Nadal disappeared from the game to nurse the bum left knee that had been bothering him for years."
"At the time, it wasn't clear if Nadal was ever coming back. He returned seven months later, reaching the finals of the first tournament he played, the Chile Open. Then he absolutely caught fire, winning six of the next seven tournaments he entered, before notching his eighth French Open," Mahler stated.
Mahler didn't directly accuse Nadal of using drugs to prolong his tennis career (perhaps to avoid being sued of libel). Nevertheless, the damage has already been done on Nadal's reputation. With all the accolades and praises Rafa has received, Mahler's bold article only suggests that there's a stench of doubt on Nadal's epic comeback all along.
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