The former world tennis number one Pete Sampras believes current world number one Rafa Nadal is in his prime and believes its inevitable that Nadal will match his grand slam tally and probably catch leader Roger Federer as well.
Nadal remains stalled on 13 career major titles, one shy of Sampras and four adrift of Federer, after a back injury hampered his efforts to beat Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka in Sunday night's Australian Open final in Melbourne.
Despite his latest setback Nadal has increased his lead at the top of the world rankings over Novak Djokovic.
Having watched Nadal courtside for the first time in Melbourne, Sampras says everything seems second nature to the Spaniard and says he and Djokovic have taken the sport to a new level since surpassed Federer.
Sampras believes it's unlikely Federer will ever beat Nadal again over five sets.
