Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer: The arch rivals – Part two
Here is the second part featuring the total number of matches played between two great rivals in the world of tennis, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on the ATP tour;
3. 2009 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid: Title battle
After falling down in the last five encounters to the Spaniard, Federer came back in style to end his trophy drought with a straight set win in the final of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open back in 2009. The final match score was
6-4, 6-4.
Nadal who came into the match after a hard fought four hours and three minutes semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic, did well to create a break point in Federer’s opening service game in the finals. The left hander had an opportunity
in the seventh game to secure another break point but Federer had other plans as he aced his way out of the set.
With the chances of registering his name as the first player to beat Rafael Nadal on clay in over a season, the sixteen time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer kept his cool in the following set and did not lose his focus at any
stage of the game.
As Roger continued to improve his level of game, Rafa battled extremely hard to stay within touching distance of his opponent and forced Roger to serve for the win at 5-4. A forehand winner from Nadal, who was in quest to capture
his second crown in Madrid, provided him a lead of 15-30.
Unhampered by his opponent’s return into the match, the 29-year-old Federer played strongly and clinched win in the end with a return shot into the net. The battle concluded in a time period of one hour and twenty six minutes.
4. 2009 Australian Open: Title battle
It was an equally significant battle for both the players. For the Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer, it was an opportunity to level Pete Sampras’ all time record of fourteen Grand Slam crowns on the tour whereas, Rafael Nadal,
on the other hand, was in quest to register his name as the first player from Spain to win the Australian Open title in the event’s 104 year history.
Rafa had survived Fernando Verdasco, his compatriot player, in a five hours and fourteen minutes semi final match on Friday, whereas Roger had a twenty four hour head-start to recover from his semi-final.
The former world number one Roger Federer, who raised a couple of eye brows with his poor serving, missed a total of eleven points on his opening serve in the second set, whereas Rafa, on the other hand, played an almost perfect
tie-break during the third set after rallying back from three break points in two service games in a row.
The professional tennis star from Spain, however, lost the next five break points at 3-2 during the fourth set which was eventually won by Federer. A lot of experts predicted that momentum would shift, however a mentally exhausted
Roger failed to muster any resistance as the current number one player on the tour, Rafael Nadal, ran through the final set for a five setter win in the end. The score line was 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2. The battle concluded in a time period of four hours
and twenty three minutes.
The modest Nadal while praising the class of the Fed Express after the match said, “I am sorry for today. I really know how you feel. But remember you are one of the best players of the history and you are going to improve the
14 of Sampras.”
Rafael Nadal, as a result of this win, also registered his name as the first man since Goran Ivanisevic back in 2001 to capture a major title with five set wins in both the semis as well as the final.
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