Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal: Timeline of the Iconic, Respectful Rivalry That Never Turned Into Friendship

The Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal rivalry needs no introduction. Tennis fans across the world enjoyed the two superstars, popularly called Fedal, competing with each other for nearly two decades. While they seemed to be close, the Spaniard recently refused to label the Swiss icon a friend.

While Federer retired in September 2022, Nadal is currently battling injuries to return to the court for a reported farewell tour. In an interview, he said he and Federer were pushed to their limits by their duel. He said while he would not call their relationship a friendship, they remain close and on good terms.

On the court, the iconic duo, who have a combined 42 Grand Slam titles, squared off 40 times, with Nadal leading 24-16. He also leads 10-4 in Grand Slam head-to-head, trouncing Federer 6-3 in Grand Slam finals. The 14-time French Open champion’s domination in Paris is a leading reason for this stat.

2004: The first match

The first Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal clash happened in the third round of the 2004 Miami Open. A teenage Nadal, seeded #32, upset first seed Federer, defeating him in straight sets.

This was the first of their 40 meetings in a rivalry that would dominate and define tennis.

2005 -2008: Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal rivalry reigns supreme with 17 matches in four years

The legendary pair hit their prime simultaneously, becoming regulars in the final stages of any tournament. Out of their 17 matches during these four years, only 3 were semi-final clashes. All other 14 matches were finals, a testament to how intense this duel had become and how incredible the two players were.

Like their first, their second clash also came at the Miami Open but Federer won it this time. Nadal won the second and last match between the duo in 2005. They met six times in 2006, five of which were finals, including the French Open and the Wimbledon summit clashes. Counting the former, Nadal won four matches, including three other finals. Federer won the Grand Slam final in London and the Tennis Masters Cup semi-final.

2007 was an almost exact action replay. Five matches comprising four finals, including the French Open the Wimbledon, and the Tennis Masters Cup semi-final. Once again, the Swiss icon won only the latter two. In the same year, the duo also clashed in a once-in-a-lifetime ‘Battle of Surfaces’ clash in Mallorca to determine who is the best player overall in the world. This is because Federer had dominated on the grass surface, while Nadal was virtually unbeatable on clay. Nadal won that battle too, showing he clearly had Federer’s number which no other player could brag about at the time, even as that was an exhibition/non-ATP match.

2008 saw the duo play each other four times, once again including the finals of the same two Grand Slam tournaments. However, that year Nadal won both including the iconic 2008 Wimbledon final, taking a 12-6 head-to-head lead. Overall, he won 11 of the 17 matches in this incredible period for the rivalry. Nadal threatened to end Federer’s grass dominance, being the first to do so.

2009-2012: Nadal gains lead that would never be undone

After a spate of Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal clashes in the previous four years, the pair played only two matches in 2009 and 2010 each, splitting it equally. Nadal, in fact, made Federer cry in public after defeating him in the Australian Open 2009 final due to the Swiss star clearly not finding a way to get past his opponent.

However, they crossed paths six times in 2011 and 2012 combined, Nadal winning four to take an 18-10 lead. This rivalry eventually ended with an eight-win lead for the Spaniard, a margin Federer could not reduce after this point.

Their 2011 ATP Finals round-robin fixture was the first tie after the maiden Fedal match in 2004 to not be a final or a semi-final.

2013-2016: Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal rivalry slows down with only six matches in four years

With a certain Novak Djokovic rising to the top and establishing himself as a multiple-Grand Slam champion, the Fedal rivalry hit a low patch. They won only three Grand Slam titles (all Nadal) from 2013 to 2016, facing off only six times, only one of which was in a Grand Slam. Four of these matches happened in 2013, the Spaniard winning it all.

Nadal also won their solitary tie in 2014 to taking his head-to-head lead to a lopsided 23-10. Federer bagged their only fixture of 2015 and they did not play each other in 2016.

However, it was during this period also when Federer and Nadal reportedly bonded a lot more off court due to their frequent exchanges in ATP Player Council meetings and other sponsor initiatives such as with Nike. As a result, the residual bitterness they seemed to have, tapered down completely. In 2o16, Federer accepted an invitation from Nadal to launch his Rafa Nadal Academy branch in Mallorca, the first the Spaniard came up with.

2015-2019: Final years as Federer restores some pride before bowing out

The aforementioned win for Federer in 2015 kickstarted a five-match winning streak for the Swiss star. He won all four of his clashes against Nadal in 2017, including the Australian Open final. That proved to be the last Grand Slam final between the two legends of the sport. This run helped Federer restore some pride and narrow the margin against the 22-time Grand Slam champion, improving his record to 23-15.

They did not meet in 2018 while Nadal handed Federer a walkover in their first clash of 2019. Their next two clashes in 2019 came in the semi-finals of Grand Slam tournaments. Nadal triumphed in the French Open tie whereas Federer came out on top in the Wimbledon fixture.

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• Rafael Nadal
• Roger Federer
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