How Nadal's eighth French Open impacts GOAT debate; mail

French Open by the numbers • The knees are the X factor. But, yes, Nadal has a very good chance to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in 2013. He is almost

Jon Wertheim | Jun 12, 2013

How Nadal's eighth French Open impacts GOAT debate; mail /

Rafael Nadal became the only man with eight wins at a single major with his eighth French Open. — Rafael Nadal became the only man with eight wins at a single major with his eighth French Open :: Bob Martin/SI

French Open by the numbers

Serena Williams won her second French Open 11 years to the day after her first. — Serena Williams won her second French Open 11 years to the day after her first :: Bob Martin/SI

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga didn't lose a set en route to the semifinals, where he was swept by David Ferrer. — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga didn't lose a set en route to the semifinals, where he was swept by David Ferrer :: Bob Martin/SI

• The knees are the X factor. But, yes, Nadal has a very good chance to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in 2013. He is almost comically self-minimizing (in an endearing way), but after the French Open final, even Nadal boasted about his ATP points haul this year. And, yes, from here on out, he's basically playing with casa money. He has reportedly committed to Beijing in September.

David Ferrer lost to Rafael Nadal in the final but passed Nadal in the rankings. — David Ferrer lost to Rafael Nadal in the final but passed Nadal in the rankings :: Bob Martin/SI

Wimbledon kits for Nadal, Federer, Serena, Sharapova

Published Jun 12, 2013

JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.