Federer-Nadal rivalry - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...

and Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...

are professional tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

players engaged in a storied rivalry, which many consider the greatest in the game's history. Their first match was in 2004.

Federer and Nadal are the only pair of men to have finished six consecutive calendar years as the top two ranked

ATP Entry Ranking

The 'Tennis men', as defined by the Association of Tennis Professionals , are the "objective merit-based method used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all tournaments for both singles and doubles, except as modified for the ARAG ATP World Tour Team Championship and Barclays ATP...

players on the ATP Tour, from 2005–2010. Federer was ranked No. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is four years and ten months younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008. Federer regained the No. 1 ranking in July 2009, due in part to Nadal's injury hiatus, which also caused Nadal to briefly fall to No. 3. Nadal returned to No. 2 in September but dropped two spots in February 2010, and regained the World No. 2 after winning the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in May 2010 (against Federer in the final). After winning the 2010 French Open, Nadal regained the No. 1 position again.

Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 17–9, with 14 of those encounters having been on Nadals favoured clay court surface. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

finals. From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches lasted five sets (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final—which Nadal won—has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series

ATP World Tour Masters 1000

The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...

finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters

Rome Masters

The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...

which Nadal won in a fifth-set tiebreak.

2004–2005

Federer and Nadal played their first match in March 2004 at the third round of the Miami Masters

Miami Masters

The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...

. During the previous nine months Federer had won his first two Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

titles and earned the No. 1 ranking in February at the age of 22. Nadal, only 17 years old and ranked No. 34, shocked the tennis world by defeating Federer in straight sets.

Their second meeting was one year later, again in Miami

2005 Miami Masters

The 2005 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the this tournament, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2005 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2005 WTA Tour...

, but this time in a best-of-five-set final. Coming into the match, Federer had been a dominant No. 1 for over a year. Nadal, ranked at No. 31, won the first two sets. However, Federer recovered to win the third set in a tiebreak and then won the final two sets, extending his record win streak in tournament finals to 18. Despite the blown lead, this match was considered by some tennis analysts as a breakthrough performance for Nadal.

They played again two months later in the semifinals of the French Open

2005 French Open

The 2005 French Open was the 104th edition of the tournament. Rafael Nadal, seeded fourth in his first French Open, was a strong favorite after winning the Rome and Monte Carlo Masters, with Guillermo Coria, a 2004 finalist and runner-up in Monaco, calling Nadal the best clay-court player in the...

, which was their first match on clay

Clay court

A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.Clay courts are more common...

. Federer needed the French title to achieve a Career Grand Slam, having already won the other three Slams. But Nadal was now ranked No. 5 due to his emergence as a dominant clay-court player, having won five titles on clay in 2005 at that stage and won 22 consecutive matches on the surface going into the semi final match with Federer. Nadal defeated Federer in four sets en route to his first Grand Slam title.

Though the two did not play again in 2005, they formed an effective duopoly over the men's game by winning three of the four Grand Slams and all eight Masters Series

ATP World Tour Masters 1000

they entered. They both won 11 titles, including a single-season record four Masters Series each. Federer won his third consecutive Wimbledon

2005 Wimbledon Championships

The 2005 Wimbledon Championships was the 119 edition. It was held at the All England Club between 20 June and 3 July.Roger Federer successfully defended the men's singles crown defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets. Whilst Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport played the longest women's final in...

and second US Open. During the second half of the year he won 35 consecutive matches and extended his record win streak in tournament finals to 24, but both streaks ended when he lost only his fourth match of the year in the Masters Cup

2005 Tennis Masters Cup

The 2005 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 36th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 31st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2005 ATP Tour...

final. Nadal became No. 2 in July, won eight clay titles, and finished the year on a 36-match clay win streak.

2006

In 2006, Nadal and Federer faced each other in six matches. Nadal won the first four, beginning with the Dubai

Dubai Tennis Championships

The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...

final in February. This was Federer's first loss of the year and ended his Open era record of 56 consecutive wins on hard courts. However, he rebounded to win his third straight Indian Wells Masters

2006 Indian Wells Masters

The 2006 Indian Wells Masters was a joint ATP Tour and WTA Tour tournament that took place on the hard courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. It took place from March 6 to March 19...

and second Miami Masters

2006 Miami Masters

The 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open was the 22nd edition of this tennis tournament and was played on outdoor hard courts. The tournament was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2006 ATP Tour and was classified as a Tier I event on the 2006 WTA Tour...

.

The spring clay season ensued, and Nadal continued his domination on clay, defeating Federer in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters

2006 Monte Carlo Masters

The 2006 Monte Carlo Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 100th edition of the Monte Carlo Masters and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2006 ATP Tour. It took place at the Monte Carlo Country Club from April 17 through April 25, 2006.The men's singles...

, the Rome Masters

2006 Rome Masters - Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal successfully defended his title with victories against the likes of Tim Henman, Fernando González, Gaël Monfils and Roger Federer, who he beat in the final.-The Final:...

, and the French Open

2006 French Open

The 2006 French Open was held in Paris, France from May 28 to June 11, 2006. Both defending champions, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained their titles. It is one of the four tennis Grand Slams. This edition made history as it became the first Grand Slam tournament to start on a...

. The Rome final lasted five hours; Federer held a 4–1 lead in the fifth set followed by two match points, but he failed to convert and Nadal eventually triumphed in a tiebreak. With his comeback victory, Nadal tied the Open era record for consecutive wins on clay. He then set the record at the French Open en route to meeting Federer in their first Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

final. Federer quickly won the first set, but Nadal fought back and took the next three sets, including a fourth set tiebreak, to capture his second French title. This was also his 14th consecutive win in a tournament final, which is second best in the Open era after Federer's 24.

They faced off again a month later in the finals of Wimbledon

2006 Wimbledon Championships

The 2006 Wimbledon Championships began on 26 June and finished on 9 July 2006.-Gentlemen's singles: Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3-Ladies' singles: Amélie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6 6-3 6-4...

, which was their first meeting on grass. Nadal's run to the final was somewhat surprising, as most tennis analysts considered him a clay-court specialist. On the other hand, Federer had broken the Open era record for consecutive wins on grass with his first round victory. He then fulfilled expectations by capturing his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title in four sets, which also ended his five-match losing streak against Nadal.

They did not meet again until the semifinals of the year-end Masters Cup

2006 Tennis Masters Cup

The 2006 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 37th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 32nd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2006 ATP Tour...

. Federer won in straight-sets en route to his third Masters Cup title in four years. Nadal's career head-to-head advantage was now 6–3.

For the second straight year they dominated the men's tour, this time winning all four Grand Slams

Grand Slam (tennis)

and holding the top two rankings for the entire season. Federer had his best year, setting the all-time record for most rankings points

ATP Entry Ranking

by capturing a career-high 12 titles, including three Grand Slams, the Masters Cup, and four Masters Series. He won 92 of his 97 matches and finished the year on a 29-match win streak spanning five titles. Four of his losses were to Nadal, who finished the season undefeated on clay.

After 2006, the ATP decided to end best-of-five-set matches in Masters Series finals. This was due, in part, to both Federer and Nadal withdrawing from the Hamburg Masters

Hamburg Masters

The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship...

tournament because it began the day after their five hour match in Rome.

2007

Nadal and Federer faced each other five times in 2007, and Federer won three of the matches. This was the only year that he won the majority of their meetings, which narrowed Nadal's career advantage to 8–6.

Federer began the year where he left off in 2006, extending his win streak to a career-best 41 matches. He not only won his third Australian Open

2007 Australian Open

The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000. Over 500 players...

title, he became the first man since Björn Borg

Björn Borg

Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...

in 1980 to not lose a set in a Grand Slam. He then won his career-high seventh consecutive tournament by capturing the Dubai

Dubai Tennis Championships

The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...

title for the fourth time in five years. But his win streak ended in March with surprising losses to Guillermo Cañas

Guillermo Cañas

Guillermo Ignacio Cañas , often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th . After retirement Cañas took on coaching, he...

in the early rounds of both the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Masters. Nadal fared better at Indian Wells, winning the fifth hard court title of his career.

For the second straight year, Federer and Nadal played in three finals on clay. Nadal won the first meeting in straight sets for his third consecutive Monte Carlo

2007 Monte Carlo Masters

The 2007 Monte Carlo Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Monte Carlo Masters and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Monte Carlo Country Club from April 14 through April 22, 2007.-Review:Rafael...

title. A few weeks later they met at the Hamburg Masters

2007 Hamburg Masters

The 2007 Masters Series Hamburg presented by E.ON Hanse was the 2007 edition of the Hamburg Masters. Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal, ending Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay. Carlos Moyà reached his first Masters Series semi-final in three years, after languishing well outside the top-20...

for the first time. Nadal entered with an 81-match clay win streak spanning over two years, but Federer defeated him for the first time on clay, including a 6–0 shutout in the third set. The next tournament was the French Open

2007 French Open

The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...

, and Nadal won their much-anticipated rematch in four sets, capturing his third consecutive French Open title. Federer squandered 16 of 17 break point opportunities, including 10 in the first set.

Their last two meetings in 2007 were also a repeat of 2006: the finals of Wimbledon

2007 Wimbledon Championships

The 2007 Wimbledon Championships were held between 25 June and 8 July 2007. For the first time there was equal prize money for the men's and women's singles champions. Reconstruction work on Centre Court was in progress and thus it had no roof....

and the semifinals of the Masters Cup

2007 Tennis Masters Cup

The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...

. Once again Federer won both matches, though the Wimbledon final was much closer this time. After Federer won the first and third sets in tiebreaks, Nadal dominated the fourth set, resulting in Federer uncharacteristically losing his cool and complaining to the umpire about the Hawk-Eye

Hawk-Eye

Hawk-Eye is a complex computer system used in cricket, tennis and other sports to visually track the trajectory of the ball and display a record of its most statistically likely path as a moving image. In cricket and tennis, it is now part of the adjudication process. It was developed by engineers...

line calling system. Nadal continued to apply pressure in the fifth set and earned two break point chances at 15–40 in both the third and fifth games. But Federer served well and saved all four break points. He then broke Nadal in the sixth game and swept the remaining games to earn his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, tying Borg's Open era record.

As in 2006, the pair held the top two rankings for the entire year and won all four Grand Slams

Grand Slam (tennis)

. For a record third time in four years, Federer won three Grand Slams, including his Open era record fourth straight US Open

2007 U.S. Open (tennis)

The 2007 US Open was held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City....

title. He also won the Masters Cup for the fourth time in five years. Nadal continued his mastery on clay, winning five titles.

2008

Federer and Nadal played four times in 2008, and Nadal won each time, extending his career advantage to 12–6. He also supplanted Federer as No. 1 in August, ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign.

During the first three months of the season, No. 3 Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...

threatened to surpass Nadal. In January Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open

2008 Australian Open

The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...

, defeating Federer in the semifinals. This was also the first Grand Slam that neither Federer nor Nadal had won since the 2005 Australian Open

2005 Australian Open

The 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005.-Men's Singles: Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4...

, ending their combined all-time record of 11 consecutive titles. Djokovic then won the Indian Wells Masters

2008 Indian Wells Masters - Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic.Novak Djokovic won in the final 6–2, 5–7, 6–3, against Mardy Fish.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer ...

and closed in on Nadal for the No. 2 ranking. But Nadal finished runner-up at the Miami Masters

2008 Miami Masters

The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...

, and followed that with another dominant spring clay-court season, including wins over Djokovic at both the Hamburg Masters

2008 Hamburg Masters

The 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...

and French Open

2008 French Open

The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....

. Federer's performance dropped at the beginning of the year, and he later revealed that he had contracted mononucleosis in December 2007. However, despite lingering after-effects he was back in playing shape for the spring season.

For the third straight year, Federer and Nadal played in three clay-court finals. Nadal beat Federer in the Monte Carlo Masters

2008 Monte Carlo Masters

The 2008 Masters Series Monte-Carlo was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 102nd edition of the Monte Carlo Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...

for the third straight year, capturing his Open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer holding a 4–0 lead in the second. A few weeks later Nadal avenged his only clay-court loss to Federer by defeating him in three sets for his first Hamburg Masters

2008 Hamburg Masters

title. Also for the third straight year, they played in the finals of the French Open

2008 French Open

. This was the most lopsided of all their matches, though, as Nadal only lost four games total and became the first man since 1999 to win a 6–0 set against Federer. This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French Open title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record, and he won it without dropping a set.

Nadal and Federer also met in the finals of Wimbledon

2008 Wimbledon Championships

The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...

for the third straight year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry. Nadal entered the final on a 23-match win streak, including his first career grass title at the Queen's Club Championships

2008 Queen's Club Championships - Singles

Andy Roddick was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Rafael Nadal.Rafael Nadal won in the final 7–6, 7–5, against Novak Djokovic.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal ...

prior to Wimbledon. Federer was also playing well, having won his record fifth title at the Gerry Weber Open

2008 Gerry Weber Open - Singles

Tomáš Berdych was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Robin Söderling.Roger Federer won in the final 6–3, 6–4, against Philipp Kohlschreiber.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # James Blake ...

without facing a single break point and then reaching the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win. Amidst rain delays, they played the longest final in Wimbledon history (4 hours and 48 minutes), and Nadal captured the title by winning the fifth set 9–7 in near-darkness. Many long-time tennis analysts promptly declared that this was the greatest match in tennis history. By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became the first man since Borg in 1980 to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season. He also ended Federer's record streaks of five Wimbledon titles and 65 wins on grass.

Nadal continued to play well after Wimbledon, extending his win streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Canada Masters

2008 Canada Masters

The 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...

title and then made it to the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters

2008 Cincinnati Masters

The 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...

. However, Federer lost early in both tournaments. This course of events guaranteed Nadal the No. 1 ranking on August 18, officially ending Federer's reign of 237 weeks.

Nadal then solidified his No. 1 ranking by winning the gold medal in singles at the Summer Olympics and reaching the semifinals of the US Open

2008 U.S. Open (tennis)

The 2008 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 128th edition of the US Open, and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year...

for the first time. Meanwhile, Federer lost in the quarterfinals of Olympic singles but won the gold medal in doubles with Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...

. Federer then captured his fifth straight US Open title, becoming the first man to win two different Grand Slams five consecutive times each. Both Nadal and Federer defeated No. 3 Djokovic in the semifinals in at least one of their respective title runs.

For a record fourth consecutive year they finished as the top two players and once again combined to win three Grand Slam titles. Nadal had his best overall year, seizing the No. 1 ranking after a record 160 consecutive weeks at No. 2. Federer's overall performance dropped from his previous four-year run of dominance, but he still played well enough to narrowly edge Djokovic in the year-end rankings.

2009

Federer and Nadal played each other only twice in 2009, splitting their matches.

Both players began the year strong, reaching the finals of the Australian Open

2009 Australian Open - Men's Singles

The 2009 men's tournament is considered to be one of the best Grand Slam tournaments in open era history. It is remembered for containing many of the best matches of the 2009 year, including the Nadal v Verdasco semi final and the Nadal v Federer final...

. This was the first hard court Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

final for Nadal, but Federer was undefeated in 8 hard court finals (5 US Open, 3 Australian). Federer also had the extra incentive of his first opportunity to tie Pete Sampras'

Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....

all-time Grand Slam title record of 14. To compound matters for Nadal, he had played a 5 hour and 14 minute semifinal two days prior, while Federer had a comparably brief straight sets semifinal victory and an extra day of rest. The final was another long match (4 hours and 23 minutes), yet Nadal prevailed again in the fifth set. With his sixth career Grand Slam title, Nadal became the fourth man to win Grand Slams on all three surfaces (hard, grass, and clay), but the first to do so within a 12-month period. He also consoled a tearful Federer during the awards ceremony.

Over the next three months Nadal solidified his No. 1 ranking with Masters Series

ATP World Tour Masters 1000

titles at Indian Wells

2009 BNP Paribas Open - Men's Singles

Novak Djokovic was the defending champion but he lost in quarterfinals to Andy Roddick 3-6 2-6.Rafael Nadal won in the final against Andy Murray 6-1 6-2.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal '...

, Monte Carlo

2009 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters - Singles

Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 2–6, 6–1, against Novak Djokovic.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal # Roger Federer ...

(for the fifth straight year), and Rome

2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Men's Singles

Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but Rafael Nadal defeated him in the final, 7–6, 6–2.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal # Roger Federer ...

. Meanwhile, Federer unraveled in the deciding sets of three Masters Series semifinals, first at Indian Wells against No. 4 Andy Murray then at both Miami

2009 Sony Ericsson Open - Men's Singles

Nikolay Davydenko was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year due to a left heel injury. Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic 6–2, 7–5 to win the title.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round....

and Rome against No. 3 Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

However, Federer rebounded at the Madrid Masters

2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open - Men's Singles

Andy Murray was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.The semifinal match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic is the longest 3 set match in the open era history stretching for over 4 hours with Nadal prevailing 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.Roger Federer won in the...

, defeating Nadal in the final in straight sets. By securing his first Masters Series title in almost two years, Federer also ended both his five match losing streak against Nadal and Nadal's 33-match win streak on clay. Furthermore, he became the second player, after Gastón Gaudio

Gastón Gaudio

Gastón Norberto Gaudio is a former tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP ranking was World No. 5 in 2005...

, to have ever defeated Nadal twice on clay, and both of his victories prevented Nadal from becoming the first man to capture all three clay-court Masters Series titles in a single year.

Federer continued his resurgence by capturing his first French Open. This was a landmark win for him; he not only completed his Career Grand Slam, but he also tied Pete Sampras's

Pete Sampras

all-time Grand Slam titles record of 14. In the final he defeated Robin Söderling

Robin Söderling

Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...

, who had upset Nadal in the fourth round, which was not only Nadal's first ever loss at the French Open but also his first loss in 49 best-of-five-set matches on clay.

Because of tendinitis in both his knees, Nadal pulled out of Queen's Club and Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon

. Therefore he didn't play a single official match on grass that year, although he lost both of his exhibition matches against Lleyton Hewitt

Lleyton Hewitt

Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...

and Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka

, while Federer captured his sixth Wimbledon title after an epic battle against Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick

Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....

5–7, 7–6, 7–6, 3–6 and 16–14. With that win, Federer broke the all-time record of Sampras's 14 Grand Slam titles with winning his 15th title and recaptured his No. 1 spot from Nadal. Nadal returned from his two month break at the Rogers Cup

2009 Rogers Cup

The 2009 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 120th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2009 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier 5 of the 2009 WTA Tour...

in Canada, where both players went out in the quarterfinals. Nadal's failure to defend his points (he won the event in 2008), and Andy Murray's success in the event, meant that Nadal dropped to third in the world: this was the first time in 49 months, since 2005 when Lleyton Hewitt was second in the world, that Federer and Nadal did not occupy the top two ranking spots. In the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open

2009 US Open - Men's Singles

Roger Federer was the defending champion, but was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in the final, 6–3, 6–7, 6–4, 6–7, 2–6.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Andy Murray # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic ...

, Federer lost for the first time to a player other than Nadal in a Grand Slam final, as Juan Martín del Potro

Juan Martin Del Potro

Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...

(Nadal's victor in the semifinals) won 3–6, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2.

2010

In 2010, Federer and Nadal played twice, with Nadal winning the first and Federer winning the second match. Ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively at the start of the season, Federer and Nadal entered three events where each time one of the two reached the final to face the victor of the second. At the Abu Dhabi

Capitala World Tennis Championship

The World Tennis Championship is a singles-only, professional tennis exhibition tournament, played on outdoor hard courts...

exhibition Nadal beat Robin Söderling

Robin Söderling

Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...

, who defeated Federer in the semifinals; in Doha

2010 Qatar ExxonMobil Open

The 2010 Qatar Open, known as the 2010 Qatar ExxonMobil Open for sponsorship reasons, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was be the 18th edition of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...

Nadal lost to Nikolay Davydenko

Nikolay Davydenko

Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...

, who had also upset Federer in the semifinals; and at the Australian Open

2010 Australian Open

The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....

it was Federer who defeated Andy Murray to clinch a 16th Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

title, with the Briton beating Nadal in their quarterfinal match-up. Federer consolidated his No. 1 ranking with the win, while Nadal descended as low as No. 4, Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

becoming No. 2 for the first time.

Both men withdrew from the Davis Cup

2010 Davis Cup World Group

The World Group was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2010. The first round losers went into the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs while the winners progressed to the quarterfinals...

first round tie between Spain

Spain Davis Cup team

The Spain Davis Cup team represents Spain in the Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Real Federación Española de Tenis, presided over by José Luis Escañuela....

and Switzerland

Switzerland Davis Cup team

The Switzerland Davis Cup team represents Switzerland in the Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by Swiss Tennis.In 2007, Switzerland competed in the World Group for the 13th consecutive year, the third longest ongoing streak, before being relegated after losing 3–2 against the Czech...

, which took place in Logroño

Logroño

Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...

, Spain, at the beginning of March. Federer pulled out as he did not want to go from hard to clay and back to hard courts in such a short time. Ironically by the time the tie came around, Federer was out with an illness. Nadal pulled out following the injury that he sustained in the match against Murray. At the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments they were placed in opposite halves of the draw, both failed to make the final.

April saw Nadal back up to number 3 and ended his 11 month title drought with a victory at the Monte Carlo Masters, becoming the first player to win a title for 6 consecutive years. At the Rome Masters

Rome Masters

Federer and Nadal were scheduled to meet at the semi-final stage, but Federer lost his first match to Ernests Gulbis

Ernests Gulbis

Ernests Gulbis is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schüttler, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final...

. The two met in the final of the Madrid Open

2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open – Men's Singles

Roger Federer was the defending champion, but Rafael Nadal defeated him 4–6, 6–7, in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Andy Murray...

, for the first time in the ATP World Tour season, one year after their last match, and Nadal defeated Federer 6–4, 7–6. At the 2010 French Open, for the first time since his debut, Nadal was not coming in as the defending champion as Federer had won the previous year. Federer was upset in the quarter-finals by Robin Soderling (breaking a 12-match losing streak to Federer). Nadal later avenged his 2009 defeat to Soderling by defeating him 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 in the final for his fifth Roland Garros title, returning to the No. 1 ranking. After Wimbledon 2010 Federer, who lost in the quarter-finals to Tomáš Berdych

Tomáš Berdych

Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...

, dropped to number three in the rankings, falling outside the top two for the first time in seven years, for the first time during his rivalry with Nadal.

Then, in the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals' final

2010 ATP World Tour Finals

The 2010 ATP World Tour Finals was held at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom between November 21 and November 28, 2010...

they met in their last match of the year for both, and Federer won it 6–3, 3–6, 6–1. With this match the Federer–Nadal rivalry is 14–8 for Nadal and Federer has won his fifth Year-End Championship, like Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl. Federer had won it in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010, losing the 2005 final.

2011

In 2011, Federer and Nadal played four times, with Nadal winning the first three and Federer winning the last match.

In their first match of 2011, Federer and Nadal met in the semi-final of the Miami Masters Series 1000 event. Nadal came out on top comfortably with a 6–3, 6–2 margin. By winning this match, Nadal improved to 15–8 in their head to head record.

Their second match, at the Mutua Madrid Open, also came in the semi-final stage but was a closer affair, with Nadal winning 5–7, 6–1, 6–3 and improving to 16–8 and 11–2 in their overall and clay head to heads respectively.

In the third meeting, Federer and Nadal met in their 8th Grand Slam Final at the 2011 French Open, the pair's first Grand Slam meeting since the 2009 Australian Open final. Nadal and Federer had beaten Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, who was unbeaten in the year till then (41–0), in their respective semi-finals. Nadal and Federer had met in the Roland Garros finals three times before, in 2006, 2007 and 2008 with Nadal winning all three. Federer started the match well, racing to a 5–2 lead before Nadal stormed back to win the first set 7–5. The second set went into a tie-break which Nadal won 7–3. Federer kept the audience interested by wrestling back the third set 7-5 but Nadal swept through the fourth set 6–1 to win 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–1 in 3 hours and 40 minutes to win his 10th Major title and 6th French Open crown, equaling Björn Borg

Björn Borg

. With this victory, Nadal improved to a 6–2 lead in their head to head for grand slam finals, with his only losses coming at Wimbledon in 2006 and 2007. He also improved to a 17–8 overall lead in their head to head.

Their final meeting of the year came in the round-robin stages of the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, held at the O2 arena in London. It was a rematch of the previous year's final and it started in similar fashion with Federer breaking Nadal once to take the first set 6–3 but after that it was all one way traffic as Federer played sublime tennis to bagel (6–0) Nadal for the third time (after 2006 Wimbledon and 2007 Hamburg) to close out the match 6–3, 6–0. With this victory Federer improved to 9–17 in their head to head and also qualified for the semi-finals of the event.

Tournament Schedule 2011

Date	Championship	Place	Category	Surface	Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...				Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...				Difference in ATP ranking
Date	Championship	Place	Category	Surface	2010 result	2010 points	New points	Outcome	2010 result	2010 points	New points	Outcome	Difference in ATP ranking
30.12.2010–01.01.2011	Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship The 2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship was a non-ATP affiliated exhibition tournament. World's top players were competing in the knock-out event, which has prize money of $250,000 to the winner. The event was held at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex at the Zayed Sports City in Abu...	Abu Dabi (UAE)	Invitation tournament	Hard	SF	–	-	Final (lost to Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals... )	SF	–	-	Winner (defeated Federer)	Nadal (1) leads F. (2) by 3365 Points
03.01.2011–08.01.2011	Qatar ExxonMobil Open	Doha (QAT)	ATP World Tour 250	Hard	SF	90	250	Winner (defeated Davydenko)	F	150	90	SF (lost to Davydenko)	Nadal leads by 3145 Points
17.01.2011–30.01.2011	Australian Open 2011 Australian Open The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...	Melbourne (AUS)	Grand Slam Grand Slam (tennis) The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...	Hard	W	2000	720	SF (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	QF	360	360	QF (lost to Ferrer David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000... )	Nadal leads by 4425 Points
21.02.2011–27.02.2011	Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...	Dubai (UAE)	ATP World Tour 500	Hard	A	–	300	Final (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	–	–	–	Not part of tour calendar	Nadal leads by 4425 Points
04.03.2011–06.03.2011	Davis Cup 2011 Davis Cup The 2011 Davis Cup is the 100th edition of a tournament between national teams in men's tennis.The draw took place in September 2010 in Brussels, Belgium.-World Group:...	– / Belgium	Davis Cup Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...	Clay	Switzerland seeded for 2nd round in Europe/Africa Group I				–	–	–	Spain defeat Belgium 4–1
07.03.2011–20.03.2011	BNP Paribas Open 2011 BNP Paribas Open The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...	Indian Wells (USA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Hard	R32	45	360	SF (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	SF	360	600	Final (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	Nadal leads by 4350, Federer now 3rd
21.03.2011–03.04.2011	Sony Ericsson Open 2011 Sony Ericsson Open The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...	Miami (USA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Hard	R16	90	360	SF (lost to Nadal)	SF	360	600	Final (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )
09.04.2011–17.4.2011	Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters The 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a tennis tournament for male professional players, was played from April 9 through April 17, 2011, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 105th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which was sponsored by Rolex for the third time...	Monte-Carlo (MON)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Clay	–	–	180	QF (lost to Melzer Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but... )	W	1000	1000	Winner (defeated Ferrer)
18.4.2011–24.4.2011	Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell	Barcelona (ESP)	ATP World Tour 500	Clay	–	–	–	Not part of tour calendar	–	–	500	Winner (defeated Ferrer)
02.05.2011–08.05.2011	Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open	Madrid (ESP)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Clay	F	600	360	SF (lost to Nadal)	W	1000	600	Final (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	Nadal leads by 3615 Points
09.05.2011–15.05.2011	Internazionali BNL d'Italia	Rome (ITA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Clay	R32	10	90	R16 (lost to Gasquet Richard Gasquet Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year... )	W	1000	600	Final (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )
23.05.2011–05.06.2011	French Open 2011 French Open The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...	Paris (FRA)	Grand Slam Grand Slam (tennis) The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...	Clay	QF	360	1200	Final (lost to Nadal)	W	2000	2000	Winner (defeated Federer)	Nadal leads by 2840 Points
06.06.2011–12.06.2011	Gerry Weber Open 2011 Gerry Weber Open – Singles Lleyton Hewitt was the defending champion, but lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarterfinals.Kohlschreiber won the tournament, defeating Philipp Petzschner in the all-German final after Petzschner retired in the second set at a score of 7–6, 2–0.-Seeds:...	Halle (GER)	ATP World Tour 250	Grass	F	150	–	withdrew due to groin injury	–	–	–	Not part of tour calendar	Nadal leads F. by 2990 Points, but is only 65 ahead of Djokovic
06.06.2011–12.06.2011	AEGON Championships 2011 AEGON Championships The 2011 AEGON Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 108th edition of the AEGON Championships and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Queen's Club in London, United Kingdom, in the club's 125th year...	London (GBR)	ATP World Tour 250	Grass	–	–	–	Not part of tour calendar	QF	45	45	QF (lost to Tsonga)
20.06.2011–03.07.2011	Wimbledon 2011 Wimbledon Championships The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...	Wimbledon (GBR)	Grand Slam Grand Slam (tennis) The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...	Grass	QF	360	360	QF (lost against Tsonga)	W	2000	1200	Final (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	Djokovic now #1, Nadal (2) leads F. (3) by 2040 Points
08.07.2011–10.07.2011	Davis Cup 2011 Davis Cup The 2011 Davis Cup is the 100th edition of a tournament between national teams in men's tennis.The draw took place in September 2010 in Brussels, Belgium.-World Group:...	Bern (SUI) / Austin (USA)	Davis Cup Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...	Hard (i)	–	–	Switzerland def. Portugal in 2nd round Europe/Africa Group I, 5–0		–	–	Nadal withdrew from Davis Cup quarterfinals against USA, Spain def. USA, 3–1
08.08.2011–14.08.2011	Rogers Cup 2011 Rogers Cup The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...	Montreal (CAN)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Hard	F	600	90	R16 (lost to Tsonga)	SF	360	45	R32 (lost to Dodig Ivan Dodig Ivan Dodig is a Croatian tennis player. His career-high rank ATP singles ranking is No. 32 and his best doubles rank is No. 129.-2010:... )
15.08.2011–21.08.2011	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters 2011 Western & Southern Open The 2011 Cincinnati Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with six new courts being built for the tournament...	Cincinnati (USA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Hard	W	1000	180	QF (lost to Berdych)	QF	180	180	QF (lost to Fish Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist... )
29.08.2011–11.09.2011	US Open	New York (USA)	Grand Slam Grand Slam (tennis) The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...	Hard	SF	720	720	(SF lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	W	2000	1200	Final (lost to Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... )	Nadal (2) leads F. (3) by 2240 Points
16.09.2011–18.09.2011	Davis Cup 2011 Davis Cup The 2011 Davis Cup is the 100th edition of a tournament between national teams in men's tennis.The draw took place in September 2010 in Brussels, Belgium.-World Group:...	Sydney (AUS) / Cordoba (ESP)	Davis Cup Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...	grass / clay	–	–	Switzerland defeated Australia 3–2 in World Group Play-offs		–	–	–	Spain def. France, 4–1 in Davis Cup Semifinals
3.10.2011–10.10.2011	Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Japan Open Tennis Championships The Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships is a tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. The championship includes both men's and women's, as well as singles and doubles competitions...	Tokyo (JAP)	ATP World Tour 500	Hard	–	–	–	Not part of tour calendar	W	500	300	Final (lost to Murray)
10.10.2011–16.10.2011	Shanghai Rolex Masters 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters The 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took place at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People's...	Shanghai (CHN)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Hard	F	600	–	Withdrew due to several minor injuries	3R	90	90	R16 (lost to F. Mayer) Florian Mayer Florian Mayer is a German professional tennis player. He plays on both the ATP Tour and the Challenger Tour. He has won nine Challenger events, which has helped him stay in the top 50 on the rankings....	Murray now 3rd, Nadal (2) leads F. (4) by 2845 Points
30.10.2011–06.11.2011	Davidoff Swiss Indoors 2011 Swiss Indoors The 2011 Swiss Indoors was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 42nd edition of the event known that year as the Swiss Indoors, and was part of the 500 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. It was held at the St...	Basel (SUI)	ATP World Tour 500	Hard (i)	W	500	500	Winner (defeated Nishikori Kei Nishikori is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked 25th in the world, as of 10 October 2011. He began playing tennis at the age of five, and on 17 July 2007 he qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.-Junior career:Nishikori won... )	–	–	–	Not part of tour calendar
07.11.2011–13.11.2011	BNP Paribas Masters 2011 BNP Paribas Masters The 2011 BNP Paribas Masters was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2011 ATP World Tour...	Paris (FRA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...	Hard (i)	SF	360	1000	Winner (defeated Tsonga)	–	–	–	Withdrew in order to better concentrate on seasons finals
20.11.2011–27.11.2011	Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2011 ATP World Tour Finals The 2011 ATP World Tour Finals was a tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom between November 20 and November 27, 2011. The defending champion in singles was world no. 4 Roger Federer, while the defending champions in doubles were Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić...	London (GBR)	ATP World Tour Finals	Hard (i)	W	1500	1500	Winner (defeated Tsonga Tsonga Tsonga may refer to:* Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa* Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , French tennis player... )	F	1000	200	Round Robin (beat Fish Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist... , lost to Federer and Tsonga Tsonga Tsonga may refer to:* Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa* Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , French tennis player... )	Federer now 3rd, Nadal (2) leads F. (3) by 1404 Points
2.12.2011–4.12.2011	Davis Cup 2011 Davis Cup The 2011 Davis Cup is the 100th edition of a tournament between national teams in men's tennis.The draw took place in September 2010 in Brussels, Belgium.-World Group:...	Seville (ESP)	Davis Cup Final 2011 Davis Cup World Group The World Group is the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2011. The first round losers go into the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs while the winners progress to the quarterfinals...	clay (i)					–	–	Spain facing Argentina in Davis Cup Finals

Significant aspects

The rivalry has been a huge part of both men's careers. Federer had the most dominant four-year run in tennis history from 2004 through 2007. His overall match record was 315–24, but this included a mere 6–8 against Nadal, who was the only man to have a winning record against him. Moreover, Nadal denied Federer a Career Grand Slam and two Calendar Year Grand Slams (in 2006 and 2007) by defeating him at the French Open every year from 2005 to 2008, but Federer succeeded in 2009 after Nadal was beaten in the fourth round. Federer also prevented Nadal from winning the ATP World Tour Finals, beating him in the 2010 finals.

Both men not only possess Open era records for consecutive wins on a single surface — Federer on both grass

Grass court

A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions depending on the tournament...

(65) and hard courts (56), Nadal on clay

Clay court

(81), but each of these streaks was broken by the other man. Their respective dominance on grass and clay was the impetus for the "Battle of Surfaces

Battle of Surfaces

The Battle of Surfaces was a men's tennis exhibition match that was held on May 2, 2007, between Roger Federer, then the top-ranked men's player, and Rafael Nadal, then World No. 2. The match was played in the capital city of Nadal's home island, Palma de Mallorca, in front of a home crowd at Palma...

", an exhibition match on a half-grass, half-clay court in May 2007.

Their Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

histories are of particular interest, especially their all-time record eight finals encounters and the fact that all but three (Federer–Del Potro, 2009 US Open and Nadal–Djokovic, 2011 Wimbledon and 2011 US Open) of their losses in Grand Slam finals are to each other; Federer is 2–6 against Nadal, who has had to defeat Federer during each of his first six title runs — five times in the final and once in a semifinal. Also, their 2008 Wimbledon final is widely considered the greatest match in tennis history.

Their record six consecutive calendar years atop the rankings is due in large part to their unprecedented combined performance in Grand Slams, as they have captured 22 of the last 27 titles (12 for Federer, 10 for Nadal) from the 2005 French Open through the 2011 French Open

2011 US Open – Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic with a score of 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1. Djokovic claimed his first US Open title, his third Grand Slam of the year, and his fourth Grand Slam overall.-Seeds:...

. This includes an all-time record 11 consecutive titles from the 2005 French Open through the 2007 US Open. Furthermore, Federer won three titles in 2004, increasing the total to 25 of 32, and Wimbledon 2003 resulting in 26 of the last 34.

They have also dominated in other tournaments, such as combining for 31 of the 54 Masters Series

ATP World Tour Masters 1000

titles from 2005 through 2010 (13 for Federer (17 total) and all-time record 18 for Nadal), including 8 of 9 in 2005 (4 each).

Head-to-head tallies

The following is a breakdown of their head-to-head results:

All matches: Nadal 17–9
All finals: Nadal 13–6
Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

matches: Nadal 7–2
Grand Slam finals: Nadal 6–2
Tennis Masters Cup/ATP World Tour Finals matches: Federer 4–0
Tennis Masters Cup/ATP World Tour Finals finals: Federer 1–0
ATP Masters Series/ATP World Tour Masters 1000
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...

matches: Nadal 9–3
ATP Masters Series/ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals: Nadal 6–3
Best of five set matches: Nadal 9–3
Five set matches: Nadal 3–2
Doubles matches: Nadal 2–1

Results on each court surface

Clay court
Clay court
A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.Clay courts are more common...

s: Nadal 12–2
Hard courts: Federer 5–4
Grass court
Grass court
A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions depending on the tournament...

s: Federer 2–1

Clay

Nadal and Federer have played 14 of their 26 matches on clay

Clay court

due to the fact that they have consistently been the best two clay court players since 2005. Nadal has generally dominated on the surface. From 2005–2008, he won every French Open, defeating Federer each time (2005 semi-final and 2006–2008 finals), and won at least 2 of the 3 clay Masters

ATP World Tour Masters 1000

events each year from 2005–2010, defeating Federer in 6 of those. As a result, some analysts and players, such as Pat Cash

Pat Cash

Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.-Early career:...

and Conchita Martínez

Conchita Martínez

Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...

, already consider Nadal the greatest clay-court player ever. Nadal has won all of their seven meetings in best of five set matches on clay.

Hard

Federer has won 5 of their 9 matches on hard courts. Federer has been the best hard court player since 2004, winning 9 of the 15 hard court Grand Slams and 5 of the 8 Masters Cups, plus a record at Cincinnati. Nadal has always had solid results on hard courts, winning 9 tournaments since 2005, including five Masters Series. But he has improved considerably over the years, reaching the semifinals of both Grand Slams for the first time in 2008, winning the 2008 Olympics Singles tournament, defeating Federer in the Australian Open final in early 2009, and winning the US Open for the first time in 2010.

An important distinction is the relative success of the two players on indoor vs outdoor hard courts. In the former Federer is currently in the ascendancy 4-0. On outdoor Hard courts Nadal leads 4-1. The quicker conditions of the indoor hard courts fits Federer's style more readily.

Despite Nadal's success on hard courts, some analysts have criticized his lack of consistency in reaching tournament finals for skewing the overall head-to-head results. They contend that more hard court encounters, especially in the early years of the rivalry, would likely have resulted in a better winning percentage for Federer. Some disagree with this argument, however, for two reasons. The first being that Nadal is five years younger than Federer, and thus only started to reach hard court finals more consistently, once he reached his peak, similar to Federer reaching clay masters finals at about the same stage in his career. Secondly, out of their first four matches three were on hard courts, with Nadal winning two of these, and also the one on clay.

Federer has been more successful than Nadal on hard courts because he hits a flatter forehand and has a faster serve. Hard courts are a fast surface, so Federer's flatter shots result in a lower bouncing, faster moving trajectory. Thus, Nadal's topspin

Topspin

In ball sports, topspin is a property of a ball that rotates as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving. Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air . It can be generated by hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing, with...

is least effective on hard courts, because it doesn't bounce up as high to Federer's backhand, enabling Federer to return it better. Nadal has improved his serving speed and placement over the years, but Federer still serves faster on average and earns more aces and service winners.

Grass

As with clay, Federer and Nadal have been the two best players on grass for the last 5 years. Federer has been the preeminent grass player since 2003, winning 5 consecutive Wimbledons

The Championships, Wimbledon

from 2003 to 2007. Nadal has steadily improved on grass, playing Federer in three consecutive Wimbledon finals from 2006–2008, with better results each time. From 2003 to 2010, Federer and Nadal have swept the Wimbledon title, Federer in 2003–07, 2009 and Nadal in 2008 and 2010. One of the reasons for Nadal's success is that in recent years Wimbledon management has firmed up their courts to make them more durable. Some say this has created the side-effect that the new courts play slower. Still, however, grass is considered the fastest surface. While Nadal is supposedly weaker on faster surfaces, the lack of a true bounce on both clay and grass may be the true secret to why Nadal is better on grass and clay than on hard court. Nadal has won on the very surface at the Olympics (identical to the US Open surface) and he has won the Australian Open (thought to be a slower hard court surface, but still much faster than clay) the US Open (the faster hard courts) and he has won several Masters Series in both the Spring and Summer.

The fact that they have played three matches on grass is remarkable considering that the Wimbledon final has been their only opportunity to do so in recent years. The grass season is brief, with only two weeks between the end of the French Open and the beginning of Wimbledon every year. This means that both men play just one other grass tournament, but they have always entered different events. Additionally, from 2006 onwards, both men have entered the Wimbledon draw as the top 2 seeds, meaning that they can only meet in the final each time.

Relationship and competitive dynamic

Both Federer and Nadal's personal and professional relationship is good-natured and gracious. Though they are both highly competitive, they maintain a healthy regard for each other and have had virtually no source of personal animosity. The lone issue, albeit minor, was Federer's complaint about Nadal's slow, deliberate style of play on the eve of the 2008 Wimbledon final.

Despite their cordial relationship, both men have a somewhat different attitude towards their rivalry. When Federer was securely atop the tennis world he was ambivalent towards the notion of a rivalry with an opponent five years younger than himself. But after their memorable 2008 Wimbledon final he had no choice but to acknowledge its significance, even admitting "it definitely becomes more and more special the more times we play against each other." A few weeks later, after Nadal had officially surpassed him in the rankings, Federer offered this compliment: "Look at what he had to achieve to get it. That's what I like to see." Nadal has always cherished the rivalry because he looks up to Federer as both a role model and a measuring stick for success.

When interest in their rivalry increased, however, both Federer and Nadal collaborated to arrange occasional charity exhibition matches to benefit their charities' philanthropic interests. The most recent was the Match for Africa, played on 21 December 2010 in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

(Federer won 4–6, 6–3, 6–3) and a follow-up match played in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

on the following day, titled "Joining Forces for the Benefit of Children" (Nadal won 7–6, 4–6, 6–3).

Cultural impact

The rivalry has also increased overall interest in tennis. The highly-anticipated 2008 Wimbledon final drew strong television ratings for tennis in both the U.S. and across Europe. The match was also featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

, which was the first time in years that tennis made the cover.

Skill comparisons

Federer is considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Some, however, argue that despite Federer's record 16 Grand Slam titles, he should not be considered the greatest ever with an 9–17 record against Nadal. Others analyze the head-to-head matches by surface and conclude that Nadal's edge comes from his 12–2 record against Federer on clay. Federer has achieved the majority of his success on grass (6 Wimbledon titles) and hardcourts (5 US Open titles and 4 Australian Open titles), whereas Nadal has achieved his greatest success on clay (6 French Open titles). It is argued that the fact that the majority of their matches have been on Nadal's most successful surface and Federer's least successful demonstrates that Federer has long been the second best clay court player in the world to Nadal. Nadal is regarded by many as the greatest clay court player of all time. He also has been a member of multiple Spanish Davis Cup teams, which Federer has never accomplished. Both men have an Olympic gold medal – Nadal in singles and Federer in doubles.

During interviews, people like fellow player Andy Murray and former player and coach Paul Annacone

Paul Annacone

Paul Annacone is a former touring professional tennis player and current well-known tennis coach.-As a college player:...

have called Nadal one of the best tennis players ever. In November 2010, Bjorn Borg said that Federer is the greatest player, but "Rafa has the chance to be the greatest player" if he stays healthy. John McEnroe said, "there is an argument to be made that Rafael Nadal may be the greatest player eventually, even possibly now." In response to a question posed by a journalist at the 2010 French Open regarding whether Nadal is better than Federer, Nadal replied, "I think this person don't know nothing about tennis." The journalist asked why, and Nadal told the journalist, "so you don't know nothing about tennis. You see the titles of him and you see the titles of me? It's no comparison. So that's the answer. Is difficult to compare Roger with me now, because he has 16 Grand Slams; I have 6. Masters 1000, yeah, I have more than him. But for the rest of the things the records of Roger is very, very almost impossible to improve." At the press conference following his semi-final win in the 2010 U.S. Open Nadal was asked whether his head-to-head advantage over Federer means he is better. Nadal replied, "Head to head is not an element for me. Is a part of the statistics, but is not the decisive element."

Significant achievements

From 2003 Wimbledon – 2011 French Open, Federer and Nadal have won an unprecedented 26 out of 32 Grand Slam titles. In this time, both men have also completed the Career Grand Slam (Nadal has also completed the Career Golden Slam by winning the 2008 Beijing Olympics).
Since Nadal's first Grand Slam victory at the 2005 French Open, Federer and Nadal have won 22 of 25 Grand Slam titles (12 for Federer, 10 for Nadal). The exceptions were the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, won by Novak Djokovic, and the 2009 US Open, won by Juan Martin del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...

.
Federer and Nadal are the only No. 1 and 2 pair in the open era to contest the French Open and Wimbledon men's finals back to back in a calendar year. They are also the only pair in the history of tennis to contest both of these finals back to back for three consecutive years (2006–08).
In the history of tennis, Federer and Nadal are the only pair to face each other in eight Grand Slam singles finals (2006–08 Wimbledon, 2006–08, 2011 French Open, 2009 Australian Open) in the span of 6 years. This broke the previous record of seven, by Bill Tilden and William Johnston (1919–25 U.S. Championships)
Federer and Nadal are the only No. 1 and 2 pair to win 11 consecutive Grand Slam singles tournaments between them (2005 French Open – 2007 US Open). In this period, Federer won 3 consecutive titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open and 2 consecutive titles at the Australian Open, while Nadal won 3 consecutive French Open titles.
During the open era, only two pairs of players have played each other in the final of the same Grand Slam singles tournament three consecutive years: Becker–Edberg
Becker–Edberg rivalry
The tennis players Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg met 35 times between 1984 and 1996. Although Becker led their overall head-to-head series 25–10, Edberg won three of their four meetings in Grand Slams. The most defining aspect of their rivalry was the three successive Wimbledon finals that...

(Wimbledon 1988–90) and Federer-Nadal (2006–08 French Open and 2006–08 Wimbledon).
Federer and Nadal are the only pair to win at least four consecutive finals at three different Grand Slams during the same period (2005–08 French Open for Nadal, 2003–07 Wimbledon and 2004–08 US Open for Federer).
From 2004 Wimbledon to 2011 French Open, the pair appeared in 25 of 28 Grand Slams finals, winning all of them except the 2005 Australian Open, 2008 and 2011 Australian Open and 2009 US Open.
Federer and Nadal have won 8 consecutive Wimbledon (2003–10) and 7 consecutive French Open (2005–11).
Federer and Nadal won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open trio for 4 consecutive years (2005–08).
During the open era, only 3 pairs of players have met each other in the final of 3 different Grand Slams. Lendl-Wilander
Lendl–Wilander rivalry
The tennis players Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander met 22 times during their careers. Lendl leads their overall head-to-head series 15–7.-Lendl 15–7 Wilander:...

(1983 Australian Open, 1985 French Open and 1987 US Open), Agassi–Sampras (1990 US Open, 1995 Australian Open and 1999 Wimbledon) and Federer-Nadal (2006 French Open, 2006 Wimbledon & 2009 Australian Open).
Nadal and Federer had never been beaten by a third player in Grand Slam finals until the 2009 US Open Final, when Juan Martin del Potro defeated Federer to claim the title.

List of all matches

ATP, Davis Cup

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...

, and Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

main draw results included.

EWLINE

Legend (2004–2008)
Grand Slam
Tennis Masters Cup
ATP Masters Series
ATP International Series Gold
ATP International Series
Davis Cup

EWLINE

Legend (2009–present)
Grand Slam
ATP World Tour Finals
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
ATP World Tour 500 Series
ATP World Tour 250 Series
Davis Cup

Singles

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score	Length (H:MM)	Sets	Federer	Nadal
1.	2004 2004 NASDAQ-100 Open - Men's Singles Andre Agassi was the defending champion but lost in the fourth round to Agustín Calleri.Andy Roddick won the final 6–7 , 6–3, 6–1 after Guillermo Coria was forced to retire.-Seeds:...	Miami Miami Masters The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...	Hard	R32	Nadal	6–3, 6–3	1:10	2/3	0	1
2.	2005	Miami	Hard	Final	Federer	2–6, 6–7^(4–7), 7–6^(7–5), 6–3, 6–1	3:43	5/5	1	1
3.	2005 2005 French Open - Men's Singles Gastón Gaudio was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to David Ferrer.Rafael Nadal won in the final 6–7, 6–3, 6–1, 7–5, against Mariano Puerta.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Andy Roddick ...	French Open	Clay	Semi-final	Nadal	6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3	2:47	4/5	1	2
4.	2006 2006 Dubai Tennis Championships The 2006 Dubai Duty Free Men’s Championships and Dubai Duty Free Women’s Championships was the 14th edition of this tennis tournament and was played on outdoor hard courts. The tournament was part of the International Series Gold of the 2007 ATP Tour and the Tier II series of the 2007 WTA Tour...	Dubai Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...	Hard	Final	Nadal	2–6, 6–4, 6–4	1:53	3/3	1	3
5.	2006 2006 Monte Carlo Masters - Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion and he won in the final 6–2, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6 against Roger Federer.-Seeds:A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated....	Monte Carlo	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–2, 6–7^(2–7), 6–3, 7–6^(7–5)	3:50	4/5	1	4
6.	2006 2006 Rome Masters - Men's Singles Rafael Nadal successfully defended his title with victories against the likes of Tim Henman, Fernando González, Gaël Monfils and Roger Federer, who he beat in the final.-The Final:...	Rome Rome Masters The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–7^(0–7), 7–6^(7–5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6^(7–5)	5:05	5/5	1	5
7.	2006 2006 French Open - Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, and won in the final 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6, against Roger Federer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal ...	French Open	Clay	Final	Nadal	1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6^(7–4)	3:02	4/5	1	6
8.	2006 2006 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles The 2006 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles began on June 26 and finished on July 9, 2006. Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3 in the final to win his fourth successive Wimbledon title.- Schedule :-Seeds:...	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Federer	6–0, 7–6^(7–5), 6–7^(2–7), 6–3	2:58	4/5	2	6
9.	2006 2006 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles David Nalbandian was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to James Blake.Roger Federer won in the final 6–0, 6–3, 6–4, against James Blake.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Nikolay Davydenko ...	Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...	Hard (i)	Semi-final	Federer	6–4, 7–5	1:53	2/3	3	6
10.	2007 2007 Monte Carlo Masters - Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion and won in the final 6–4, 6–4 against Roger Federer.-Seeds:A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated...	Monte Carlo	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–4, 6–4	1:35	2/3	3	7
11.	2007 2007 Hamburg Masters - Singles The 2007 Hamburg Masters Men's Singles competition was won by Roger Federer.-Seeds:A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated...	Hamburg Hamburg Masters The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship...	Clay	Final	Federer	2–6, 6–2, 6–0	1:55	3/3	4	7
12.	2007 2007 French Open - Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, against Roger Federer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Andy Roddick # Nikolay Davydenko ...	French Open	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4	3:10	4/5	4	8
13.	2007 2007 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon to equal the record of Björn Borg, defeating Rafael Nadal in five sets in the final.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Andy Roddick # Novak Djoković ...	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Federer	7–6^(9–7), 4–6, 7–6^(7–3), 2–6, 6–2	3:45	5/5	5	8
14.	2007 2007 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–2, 6–3, 6–2, against David Ferrer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic # Nikolay Davydenko ...	Shanghai	Hard (i)	Semi-final	Federer	6–4, 6–1	0:59	2/3	6	8
15.	2008 2008 Monte Carlo Masters - Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 7–5, against Roger Federer.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal...	Monte Carlo	Clay	Final	Nadal	7–5, 7–5	1:43	2/3	6	9
16.	2008 2008 Hamburg Masters - Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, but Rafael Nadal defeated him 7–5, 6–7, 6–3, in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic ...	Hamburg	Clay	Final	Nadal	7–5, 6–7^(3–7), 6–3	2:52	3/3	6	10
17.	2008 2008 French Open - Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion and did not drop a set in the tournament and won in the final 6–1, 6–3, 6–0, against Roger Federer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djoković ...	French Open	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–1, 6–3, 6–0	1:48	3/5	6	11
18.	2008 2008 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles Rafael Nadal defeated five-time defending Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer, in five sets to win his first Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam championship. It was the longest championship match in Wimbledon history with play lasting four hours and 48 minutes, and with two rain delays...	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Nadal	6–4, 6–4, 6–7^(5–7), 6–7^(8–10), 9–7	4:48	5/5	6	12
19.	2009 2009 Australian Open - Men's Singles The 2009 men's tournament is considered to be one of the best Grand Slam tournaments in open era history. It is remembered for containing many of the best matches of the 2009 year, including the Nadal v Verdasco semi final and the Nadal v Federer final...	Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	Hard	Final	Nadal	7–5, 3–6, 7–6^(7–3), 3–6, 6–2	4:23	5/5	6	13
20.	2009 2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open - Men's Singles Andy Murray was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.The semifinal match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic is the longest 3 set match in the open era history stretching for over 4 hours with Nadal prevailing 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.Roger Federer won in the...	Madrid Madrid Masters There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open — a men's and women's tennis tournamentMadrid Masters...	Clay	Final	Federer	6–4, 6–4	1:26	2/3	7	13
21.	2010	Madrid	Clay	Final	Nadal	6–4, 7–6^(7–5)	2:10	2/3	7	14
22.	2010 2010 ATP World Tour Finals – Singles Nikolay Davydenko was the defending champion, but did not qualify for the event.Roger Federer won the tournament after beating Rafael Nadal 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 in the final. It was his fifth title of the year and his fifth year-end championships title. The single set that he lost to Nadal was the only...	London	Hard (i)	Final	Federer	6–3, 3–6, 6–1	1:37	3/3	8	14
23.	2011 2011 Sony Ericsson Open – Men's Singles Andy Roddick was the defending champion, but lost to Pablo Cuevas in the second round.Novak Djokovic won the title, defeating Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 in the final for the second week in a row after also beating him in the Indian Wells final the previous week...	Miami	Hard	Semi-final	Nadal	6–3, 6–2	1:18	2/3	8	15
24.	2011 2011 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic 7–5, 6–4 in the final. It was the second win for Djokovic on a ATP Master 1000 Tournament played on clay courts, the 6th title of the year and 24th of his career...	Madrid	Clay	Semi-final	Nadal	5–7, 6–1, 6–3	2:36	3/3	8	16
25.	2011	French Open	Clay	Final	Nadal	7–5, 7–6^(7–5), 5–7, 6–1	3:40	4/5	8	17
26.	2011 2011 ATP World Tour Finals – Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion and confirmed the title, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 in the final. It was the 6th ATP World Tour Finals title for Federer and the 70th title of his whole career.-Seeds:...	London	Hard (i)	RR	Federer	6–3, 6–0	1:00	2/3	9	17

Doubles

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score	Opponents	Federer	Nadal
1.	2004 2004 Pacific Life Open The 2004 Pacific Life Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Indian Wells Masters and was part of the Masters Series of the 2004 ATP Tour and of Tier I of the 2004 WTA Tour...	Indian Wells	Hard	R32	Nadal/Robredo Tommy Robredo Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...	5–7, 6–4, 6–3	Federer/Allegro Yves Allegro Yves Allegro is a professional male tennis player from Switzerland. He is a doubles specialist and is well known as Roger Federer's doubles partner and good friend.-Doubles: 9 :-External links:...	0	1
2.	2007	Rome	Clay	R32	Nadal/Moya Carlos Moyá Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...	6–4, 7–6^(7–5)	Federer/Wawrinka Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...	0	2
3.	2011 2011 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Doubles The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...	Indian Wells	Hard	SF	Federer/Wawrinka	7–5, 6–3	Nadal/M. Lopez Marc López Marc López i Tarrés is a professional male tennis player from Spain, who started playing tennis at the age of 8 years old and became professional in 1999...	1	2

Exhibitions

On 21 November 2006 they played an exhibition match on a hard court in Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. Federer won 6–3, 3–6, 6–3.

On 2 May 2007 they played in the "Battle of Surfaces

Battle of Surfaces

" on a hybrid court that was half clay and half grass. This match was held at the Palma Arena

Palma Arena

The Palma Arena is a multisport pavilion of the city of Palma de Mallorca. Its main function is hosting indoor track cycling races on a banked track, and is one of the best equipped in Europe for this purpose...

in Palma, the capital city of Nadal's native Mallorca

Mallorca

Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...

. Nadal won 7–5, 4–6, 7–6.

On 21 December 2010 they played in Zürich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

on a hard court a charity tennis match for the Roger Federer Foundation. Federer won 4–6, 6–3, 6–3. They played another exhibition match on December 22, 2010 in Madrid

Madrid

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Nadal won 7–6, 4–6, 6–1. This was a charity tennis match for the Fundación Rafa Nadal (Rafael Nadal Foundation).

On 1 January 2011 they played in the final of the knockout exhibition tournament; the Mubadala World Tennis Championship

2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship – Singles

Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–6, 7–6 against Roger Federer.-Seeds:The top two seeds receive a bye into the semifinals.# Rafael Nadal # Roger Federer ...

on a hard court. Federer had beaten Söderling in the previous round and Nadal had beaten Berdych in the previous round. Nadal won the encounter by a score of 7–6, 7–6.

On 8 March 2011 the two played a set at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

, USA. Nadal won the charity exhibition 7–5.

Performance timeline comparison (Grand Slams)

Bold = beat/lost to in final.

Italics = beat/lost to in an earlier round.

1999–2004

Player	1999				2000				2001				2002				2003				2004
Player	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	LQ	1R	1R	LQ	3R	4R	1R	3R	3R	QF	QF	4R	4R	1R	1R	4R	4R	1R	W	4R	W	3R	W	W
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...																	A	A	3R	2R	3R	A	A	3R

2005–2010

Player	2005				2006				2007				2008				2009				2010
Player	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	SF	SF	W	W	W	F	W	W	W	F	W	W	SF	F	F	W	F	W	W	F	W	QF	QF	SF
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	4R	W	2R	3R	A	W	F	QF 2006 U.S. Open - Men's Singles Defending champion Roger Federer won his third straight US Open title with his defeat of Andy Roddick in 4 sets, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...	QF	W	F	4R	SF	W	W	SF 2008 U.S. Open - Men's Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–2, 7–5, 6–2, against Andy Murray.-Seeds:# Rafael Nadal # Roger Federer # Novak Djoković # David Ferrer ...	W	4R	A	SF	QF	W	W	W

2011

Player	2011
Player	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	SF	F	QF	SF
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	QF	W	F	F

Career evolution

Federer and Nadal were born about five years apart. Federer's birthday is August 8, 1981, while Nadal's is June 3, 1986. A different viewpoint of their career evolution is offered by taking the season they entered with an age of 17 as starting point. For instance in 2004, Federer started the season being 22 years old; at the end of that season, he accumulated a career record of four Grand Slam titles, a total of 22 singles titles and his final ranking was No. 1 at 23 years old.

= active record (updated Monday Nov 28, 2011)

Age (end of season)		18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Federer's season		1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals... 's season		2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Grand Slam titles	Federer	0	0	0	0	1	4	6	9	12	13	15	16	16
Grand Slam titles	Nadal	0	1	2	3	5	6	9	10
Grand Slam match wins	Federer	0	7	20	26	39	61	85	112	138	162	188	208	228
Grand Slam match wins	Nadal	6	19	36	56	80	95	120	143
Total titles	Federer	0	0	1	4	11	22	33	45	53	57	61	66	70
Total titles	Nadal	1	12	17	23	31	36	43	46
Total match wins	Federer	15	51	100	158	236	310	391	483	551	617	678	743	807
Total match wins	Nadal	45	124	183	253	335	401	472	(539)
Ranking	Federer	64	29	13	6	2	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	3
Ranking	Nadal	51	2	2	2	1	2	1	2
Weeks at number 1	Federer	0	0	0	0	0	48	100	152	204	237	262	285	285
Weeks at number 1	Nadal	0	0	0	0	19	46	76	102

Federer–Nadal Grandslam Era

Year	Australian Open	French Open	Wimbledon	US Open
2003	United States Andre Agassi Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...	Spain Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	United States Andy Roddick Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
2004	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Argentina Gastón Gaudio Gastón Gaudio Gastón Norberto Gaudio is a former tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP ranking was World No. 5 in 2005...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
2005	Russia Marat Safin Marat Safin Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
2006	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
2007	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
2008	Serbia Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
2009	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Argentina Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martin Del Potro Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
2010	Switzerland Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
2011	Serbia Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...	Spain Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...	Serbia Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...	Serbia Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...

External links

Article on the Federer-Nadal rivalry at the ATP's official site
Head to Head player details at the ATP's official site
Federer / Nadal: The Head-to-Head Anomaly Article on the Statistical Anomaly of the Federer-Nadal Head-to-Head
Super Match 2006 Part one of the Seoul match, there are 9 parts which can be found on the side of the video
Battle of the Surfaces highlights

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.