Is 2020 the year Nadal nudges Federer into retirement?

Whatever 2020 holds, it will remain a three way race till the end.

This leaves us at the cusp of history with Nadal, for the first time in his career, trailing Roger by a single Grand Slam. While it's just a statistic, it weighs in heavily towards the 'greatest of all time' claim. But Federer's lead seems quite certain to vanish this year by the time French Open Winner is decided. Such has been his domination at the red courts of Paris that irrespective of how indifferent his form is arriving into the French Open, barring a phenomenal run by Dominic Thiem, you can already add a number 13 to his cabinet. While Australian Open and Wimbledon seem difficult against a roaring Djokovic and a soaring Medvedev, both of whom are better suited for the faster surfaces, if the draw and pace of the courts are as favourable as last year at New York, he might even surpass Federer this year itself.

If Nadal manages to reach Federer's tally, he already has more Masters 1000 titles, multiple Davis Cup wins and an Olympic Gold to further boost his claim. The only cynic to his claim would be his over-achievement in a single slam. But winning multiple slams at the other two surfaces with his low, slow, top-spin heavy baseline game that is more suited to slow nature of the clay surfaces is also an over-achievement. Among the three, he has missed the most slams with injuries which have been a frequent feature of his long career of around two decades. While one can never claim the 'greatest of all time' title unchallenged, relatively, the pendulum swings towards Nadal with him catching Federer; as, when and if, it happens. But where does that leave Federer?