Twenty Facts about the Federer-Nadal rivalry
The tennis season is officially over with the conclusion of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour Finals, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Championships and the Davis Cup final. One of these events, the World Tour Finals, gave tennis
fans all over the world a match which they had been craving all year long. The Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal final was certainly a fitting end to the season – here are 20 facts about all the career meetings between the two champions.
Fact 1: The ATP World Tour Finals title match was the 22nd time that the two players have played each other.
Fact 2: The match at the World Tour Finals was the first match between the two rivals in London, since their legendary Wimbledon final in 2008.
Fact 3: Nadal has a 14-8 career win-loss record against Federer.
Fact 4: In title matches, Nadal has defeated Federer twelve times, while Federer has prevailed on five occasions.
Fact 5: The last match between Rafa and the Swiss Maestro in London was their third indoors meeting. Federer won their last two matches on that surface.
Fact 6: Nadal has a 10-2 advantage over Federer on clay. On other surfaces, Federer holds a 6-4 record.
Fact 7: Nadal has taken six of their last three-set matches, while Federer has won four.
Fact 8: Nadal had a record of six consecutive wins over Federer until the World Tour Finals, where he was defeated and his streak interrupted.
Fact 9: From 2006 to 2008, the two players competed against each other 13 times. They have only played each other four times in the last two seasons.
Fact 10: Out of the 22 matches played by the pair, eighteen have been finals. Out of the remaining four, three were semi-finals. The only preliminary round meeting between Federer
and Rafa was their first-ever match, a second round clash in Miami in 2004.
Fact 11: Rafa and Federer have won three matches each on hard courts.
Fact 12: Federer and Nadal have together dominated Grand Slams since Wimbledon in 2003. Since then both men have won 25 of the 30 Grand Slams tournaments held.
Fact 13: The only time when either Federer or Nadal did not win the French Open or Wimbledon was six years ago, when Argentine Gaston Gaudio lifted the 2004 French Open.
Fact 14: The last man to hold the World Number one ranking before Federer and Nadal established a strangle hold on the top spot, was Andy Roddick in February 2004.
Fact 15: Until 2009 both men were responsible for each others exit in a Grand Slam final. However Juan Martin Del Potro broke that run by defeating Roger Federer in the U.S.
Open final last season.
Fact 16: Either Nadal or Federer have featured in every Grand Slam final since the 2005 Australian Open, except the 2008 Australian tournament.
Fact 17: In their three indoor meetings, Nadal has only been able to win one set against Federer.
Fact 18: The shortest encounter between the two players was at Shanghai in 2007, when the match lasted just under two hours.
Fact 19: At the age of 24, Nadal has won more Grand Slams and ATP tournaments than Federer had at his age. However, Nadal has only spent 70 weeks as World Number one, while
Federer had already clocked in 100 weeks when he was 24.
Fact 20: The two players will compete against each other again before Christmas, playing exhibition matches. One of these matches will be held in Switzerland, and the other
will be staged in Nadal’s homeland Spain.
Tags: