Nadal: From the '14 French Open to the '17 Australian Open

On Sunday at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will face each other for the ninth time in a Grand Slam final. The Spaniard leads in Slam finals, 6-2 and holds the overall career head-to-head edge, 23-11.

Nadal will be playing for his 15th Grand Slam title, with his last victory coming in the 2014 Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic. How has his Grand Slam career gone since winning his 14th title?

2014: Roland Garros - Champion

The last major title won by the King of Clay was in Paris, where Nadal became a household name over a decade ago. In essence, this final was just another day on the job for him, defeating Djokovic in four sets, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. It would be the last Roland Garros where Nadal would go deep into the tournament—at least as far as his fans expect him to go.

2014: Wimbledon - Round of 16

Starting in 2013, Nadal hasn't had the best of luck in Wimbledon after losing to No. 135-ranked Steve Darcis in the first round. The next year, Nadal would take on a rising and then-ranked No. 144 Nick Kyrgios and fall to him in four sets. His Wimbledon curse would continue on.

2015: Roland Garros - Quarterfinalist

Djokovic came for vengeance. The resurgent and dominating Serbian dismantled Nadal (7-5, 6-3, 6-1), marking the first time Nadal didn't reach the Roland Garros final since 2009. It also marked the first time that the then-world No. 1 defeated Nadal in Paris.

2015: Wimbledon - Second Round

The Wimbledon curse continued on with Nadal losing to Dustin Brown, who was ranked No. 102 at the time. The match would mark the third consecutive time that the Spaniard lost to someone outside of the Top 100 in London. It was the first and only time that Brown has defeated Nadal in a major.

2015: US Open - Third Round

The end of a low point in Nadal's career: Fabio Fognini saw to it that this would be the earliest that the 14-time Major champion exited the US Open since 2005, outlasting him in five sets. The loss also finished off the first year since 2004 that Nadal has not won at least one Grand Slam.

2016: Australian Open - First Round

The start of 2016 didn't see Nadal start on a very high note. While his match against Fernando Verdasco was suitably epic, it was still the first time in his career that he lost in the first round in Melbourne. It was also the third time in 18 meetings that Verdasco got the upper hand.

2016: Roland Garros - Round of 32

Things didn't get much better after Melbourne. After just two matches in Roland Garros, Nadal had to withdraw from the competition due to a wrist injury that happened just before the tournament. He would have faced fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers. It is the earliest Nadal has exited from Paris in his entire career. His injury would also the reason why he skipped Wimbledon just a few months later.

2017: Australian Open

For the first time since defeating Djokovic in the French Open in 2014, Nadal is back in the final of a Grand Slam after a painful 2016 season. The historic rivalry between Federer continues, at least for now, and soon fans will know if Nadal can seal his 15th Grand Slam and become the first player in the Open Era to win all of the majors twice.

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