The seven biggest rivalries in men's tennis history, part 6: Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal

We look back on rivalries that have shaped tennis. Part six of our, of course extremely subjective, review: the duels between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

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First of all: In the duels between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the rivalry was purely sporty in nature, away from the field the two leaders always presented themselves harmoniously in the Grand Slam title classification. Yes, they were very keen to show their friendship in public, as you could see last but not least at this year's match in Africa. But that doesn't change the fact that a list of the biggest tennis rivalries without Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would simply be incomplete.

There are enough reasons for this to name two of them: your duels decide the really big titles. The Swiss and the Spaniards have made eight Grand Slam titles between themselves eight times since 2006. Or: Fourteen times there was a duel between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at a major - none of them took place before the semifinals. Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal, since the two first met in 2004, are the big matches of every tournament, the matches that have a significant impact on the outcome of the tournaments.

First meeting in 2004

It all started in Miami in March 2004. Rafael Nadal, number 34, entered the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 event with the tournament favorite, number one in the world, Roger Federer. The surprising outcome: The Mallorcan prevailed in two sentences. The further duels of the 39-time Grand Slam Champions should continue in this key. Federer succeeded in the next clash, again in Miami, the revenge, but the next five duels went to the Spaniard - four of them in finals.

The Spaniard's dominance continued for a long time, to be precise until January 2017, when the two faced each other in the final of the Australian Open. After Rafael Nadal won sentence four and forced the Swiss into a decisive fifth round, fitness should actually be a clear advantage in favor of the Mallorcan. But there was something that made Roger Federer different and above all better in this game than in previous duels with Nadal. The Swiss took the backhand in the climb, thereby disarming his opponent's forehand spin, rather putting pressure on him. A strategy that paid off in the end, Federer won sets three and four and secured his 18th Grand Slam title.

It was not only Federer's victory in this game, it was also the beginning of a turnaround that went hand in hand with the success of the Swiss. There have been six duels between Federer and Nadal since the Australian Open 2017, five of which ended better for the 38-year-old. Only in his living room, the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris, has the Spaniard prevailed since then, a place where Roger Federer lost all six previous duels - a place where Nadal was only beaten twice.

Nadal vs. Federer: "Battle of Surfaces"

Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal is also a duel of specialists on certain surfaces. Nadal, probably the best clay court player of all time, can also look back on a correspondingly impressive record on the "red ash", winning 14 of the 16 duels. On the other hand, there were far fewer duels on Federer's favorite surface, the turf. Nevertheless, Federer is clearly ahead here, winning three of the four duels with the "Bull from Monacor". But it was with this one victory that Rafael Nadal succeeded in what Roger Federer has so far been denied: in what was probably the most legendary match of the two, he was able to defeat his opponent at the Grand Slam on his favorite surface, Wimbledon 2008. On the occasion of these different preferences there was the "Battle of Surfaces" in Palma in 2007, with one side of the square covered with sand and one side with lawn. The winner in this highly symbolic encounter: Rafael Nadal. Because of the unwritten law that those athletes who host these show matches also win these matches in the third set, this - and only this - game should not be given too much importance.

Federer vs. Nadal stands for legendary matches that will continue far beyond their active careers. Federer against Nadal represents a duel between two of the greatest tennis players of all time. Federer against Nadal also stands for a gigantic contribution that these two athletes made to tennis. For several years now, these two players have belonged to the faces of tennis, they have promoted the popularity of tennis like no other athlete. And they always had a thing for charitable activities: be it with the Match for Africa or with charity games like this year's Ralleys for Bushfire Relief. Federer versus Nadal, however, stands for one thing above all: that even the biggest athletic competitors can become pretty good friends off the pitch.

The biggest rivalries in men's tennis , part 1: Laver vs Rosewall

The biggest rivalries in men's tennis, part 2: Borg vs McEnroe

The biggest rivalries in men's tennis, part 3: Connors vs Lendl

The biggest rivalries in men's tennis, part 4: Becker vs Edberg

The biggest rivalries in men's tennis, part 5: Sampras vs Agassi

The biggest rivalries in men's tennis, part 6: Federer vs Nadal

The biggest rivalries in men's tennis, part 7: Djokovic vs Nadal

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