Best ever rivalry in Tennis: Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal - Tennis Special
There have been quite a few intense rivalries in Tennis and it is not easy to say whether which one was the best ever in the history of the sport.
However, some of them have been quite interesting and the fans worldwide have enjoyed them a lot. One of the famous ones, which hopefully will continue over the coming years, is amongst Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Both players have been in the sport for quite some time and have given a tough time to each other. They dominated others for a very long time, but things have finally become a bit difficult for them, as youngsters like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have
really started to bring out their best.
Age is definitely not on Federer’s side and his reflexes will not be as sharp as they were a few years ago. Despite that, he has continued to deliver some top class performances during the 2012 season and even managed to add one more Grand Slam title to
his name.
The Swiss Maestro had been struggling for consistency over the past couple of years and he was not even managing to challenge his main rivals on his favourite grass courts at Wimbledon.
However, things worked out well for him this year, as he returned to the top of the rankings and maintained his positions for quite some time before it was taken away by Novak Djokovic at the end of the season.
Federer succeeded in this year’s Wimbledon and clinched the Silver medal in the London Olympics. Although his performances were pretty much consistent, some believe that he might have benefitted from the absence of nemesis, Nadal.
The Spaniard has missed most of the 2012 season because of injuries and he is not yet sure about his return to the sport. He has always managed to give a tough time to his Swiss opponent and leads him by 18-10 in the head to head battle.
However, most of his victories have come on the clay court, which has been his favourite surface over the years.
Since Nadal is young, he has a chance of making a comeback to the sport and improve his overall record against Federer on other surfaces as well.
On the other hand, the latter will look to close the gap to his rival before calling it a day in the sport. He has probably got a couple of more seasons left in him.
Both tennis stars duelled each other twice this year with Nadal overpowering the Swiss in their first meeting in the semi-finals of Austrlian Open. However, Federer avenged his loss at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He wasted a 3-0 lead but remained
focused to record a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Overall, both of them are great champions and they have given the fans a lot to cheer about. It will be interesting to see what happens when they go head to head in the future once again.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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