Call it tennis’s answer to Ali-Frazier. On one baseline stands Roger Federer, arguably the greatest player in the history of the game. And across the court, Rafael Nadal, his only foil. One a right-handed, light-footed finesse player with an unmatched ability to catch his opponents with a delicate shot. The other a left-handed, foot-stomping, hard-hitting power player who dresses like a pirate, sure, but who has earned respect by returning the shots no one thinks possible.
Federer-Nadal is a showdown that transcends sport. An evolution of the clash between man and machine. This is mind vs. power. Ability vs. will.
Thirty times they have fought, and though Nadal leads 20–10, it has never been 100 percent clear who is the best. Federer’s 17 grand slam singles titles are the most of any man, while Nadal’s 12 tie him with Roy Emerson for third all time and place him two shy of Pete Sampras.
The two have been battling since 2004, when a 17-year-old Nadal, then ranked 34th in the world, upset the established Swiss maestro five years his senior on the hard courts of Miami’s Crandon Park Tennis Center. It’s their extremely different styles of play that make their encounters so spectacular. The Spaniard’s defence has always been impenetrable on the clay of Roland Garros, while Federer’s attacks have proven more effective on the Wimbledon grass. Their three consecutive meetings in the Wimbledon final from 2006–08 were among their most memorable. Federer claimed victory in the first two matches, but lost the third in a five-hour showdown that bled into the night. That match is considered one of the best ever played on any surface.
Age and injury have diminished the significance and intensity of their encounters in recent years. But that doesn’t matter, because decades from now we’ll still be watching highlights from their earlier matches, remembering all the times they entertained us with their individual and combined excellence and wishing their rivalry could have gone on forever.