The Greatest Rivalry(Friendship) in Tennis

Back in 2004, when the world had a glimpse of Fedal Rivalry(Friendship), people could rarely believe that this rivalry would end up being THE GREATEST RIVALRY in the history of tennis.
Some consider Federer as the Greatest of all time while some consider Nadal is the GOAT but of all other things they are the most humble and down to earth player you will see on the circuit.

First Clash- Miami 2004 3R

The foundation of the competition between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer started in Miami when the Spaniard was an adolescent with an enormous save of self-conviction.

Roger's next adversary was 17-year-old newcomer Rafael Nadal, positioned No. 36 on the planet. Nadal was a hard-hitting left-hander from Spain, a nation prestigious for its ability on earth. This, be that as it may, was a hardcourt occasion.

Blessed No. 1 a month sooner, Federer touched base in Miami having won 28 matches amid the past nine months—including his first Wimbledon crown in 2003, and his first Australian Open title in 2004. Indeed, even debilitated, Federer anticipated that would win this match.

Nadal had different plans. Playing almost faultless tennis against Federer, Nadal vanquished him, 6-3, 6-3. While as a matter of fact stunned, the tennis world ought to have stopped or spun in reverse, on the grounds that there was never a more prophetic tennis match than this one.

Amid that match, Nadal never confronted a breakpoint, and he made 81 percent of his first serves. He even won 13 of 14 net focuses, interspersing his win with an overhead crush at the net. He played an about ideal match against the world No. 1 player.

Highlights of the match between Rafa and Roger.

FIRST GRANDSLAM MEETING

They played again two months later in the semifinals of the French Open, which was their first match on clay. Nadal defeated Federer in four sets en route to his first Grand Slam title.

In 2006, Nadal and Federer confronted each other in six matches.

Nadal won the initial four, start with the Dubai last in February played on hard court. This was Federer's first loss of the year and finished his Open period record of 56 continuous wins on hard courts.

The Hardcourt season followed, and Nadal proceeded with his strength on dirt, vanquishing Federer in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, the Rome Masters, and the French Open, in what was their first Grand Slam last. Federer won the main set rapidly, yet Nadal battled back and took the following three sets to catch his second French Open title.

In the Rome last, Federer held two title focuses on Nadal's serve at 5– 6 in the fifth set yet neglected to change over. Federer at that point drove 5– 3 in the fifth-set sudden death round, however, Nadal won the following four focuses to assert the title. At five hours and five minutes, this is the longest match Federer and Nadal have ever challenged.

They went head to head again a month later in the last of Wimbledon, which was their first gathering on grass. Federer won in four sets to catch his fourth successive Wimbledon title with two sets going to sudden death rounds.

Highlights of the French Open final between Rafa and Roger.

Mastering the Favored Court

Roger Federer considered as the finest on Grass court while Rafael Nadal considered as the King of Clay as they dominated the favored courts respectively.
Roger won 5 straight Wimbledon from 2003-07, and in the pursuit of 6th straight Wimbledon in 2008 lost to Rafael Nadal in 5 Epic sets which in regards is considered as the GREATEST TENNIS MATCH OF ALL TIME.

[caption id="attachment_66" align="aligncenter" width="469"] Nadal and Roger embracing after the epic 2008 Wimbledon final[/caption]

Rafael Nadal, however, did not lose a match against Roger at Roland Garros but was defeated by Robin Soderling of Sweden in 2009 which ended his winning streak and is often depicted as one of the biggest stunners in the history of tennis. Eventually, Roger goes on to win his first Roland Garros which completed his career slam.

The Following Year, 2010, Rafa Bounced back and Captured his 5th "Coupe des Mousquetaires" trophy by defeating Robin Soderling in the final. Till Date, Rafa Nadal has an astonishing 10 Roland Garros Titles, the most number of grand slam title by any player in the Open Era. He has also won 11 titles each in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

Roger Federer, on the other hand, has won 9 Gerry Weber open titles and whooping 8 Wimbledon titles to his name.

WORLD TOUR FINALS

• Federer and Nadal met in the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals, denoting their third gathering at the year-end titles and their first regular meeting in the finals. Federer proceeded with his indoor strength against Nadal, winning in three sets. This triumph gave Federer a record-tying fifth title at the year-end competition.


• Their last gathering of the year 2011 came in the round-robin phase of the ATP World Tour Finals. Their match, a rematch of the earlier year's last, saw Federer win an unbalanced match in straight sets.


• Nadal and Federer met in semifinals of the indoor event, 2013 ATP World Tour Finals in the O2 arena. Nadal beat Federer in straight sets. This was Nadal's first win over Federer on indoor hard courts. This would also be Federer's last career match played with his 90-inch racquet before upgrading to a larger frame.

GOLDEN GRANDSLAM ERA(2004-10)

Between 2004-10 season this duo shared 24 Grandslam trophies out of 28. 15 of them were won by Roger and 9 belonged to Rafa.
From 2003-till date, they share 36 grand slam titles, out of which 20 belongs to Roger and Rafa has the rest(16).

Rafael Nadal all grand slam

Roger Federer all grand slam

[caption id="attachment_71" align="aligncenter" width="479"] Rafa Nadal with different grand slam trophies[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_72" align="aligncenter" width="465"] Roger Federer with different grand slam trophies[/caption]

RESURGENCE OF THE RIVALRY(FRIENDSHIP)

The Duo did not have any match against each other for over a year and 9 months till they at long last met in Basel 2015 in October, their past gathering was at Australian open 2014 Semifinal round.

2016 additionally abandoned any single gathering among the most despised adversaries. However, Nadal and Federer joined in Manacor for the inauguration of RAFA NADAL ACADEMY in October

Then Came 2017, the year of resurgence of the rivalry(friendship), Federer vanquished Nadal to catch a record eighteenth Grand Slam title.

Federer and Nadal played four times in 2017, with Federer winning on every one of the four events. This denoted the first run through in their competition that Federer faced and went undefeated against Nadal in various circumstances in a solitary tennis season.

The contention was reestablished in the 2017 Australian Open last, their first gathering in a Grand Slam last since 2011. Federer, coming back from a six-month cutback from knee damage that saw him pass up a major opportunity for a large portion of the 2016 season, came into the competition seeded seventeenth, and Nadal seeded ninth.

Preceding the match, Nadal had won each match between the two out of a Grand Slam competition since the Wimbledon last in 2007, three of which were in the Australian Open.

Federer returned from a separate in the fifth set to take the match, turning into the main man in history to win 18 Grand Slam singles titles and the principal man to win no less than five titles in three diverse Grand Slam competitions each, and denying Nadal's third push to win the Australian Open title again and furthermore his second chance to end up the primary man in the Open Era to win every Grand Slam competition in men's singles no less than twice.

Federer's triumph over Nadal in the Australian Open 2017 last additionally denoted his first prevail upon Nadal in a Grand Slam singles coordinate outside the grass courts of Wimbledon.

They met again at Indian Wells in the round of 16, just their second-consistently meeting before the quarterfinal organize in any competition. Federer won in straight sets; it was the first occasion when he had won three matches in succession against Nadal.

Their 37th gathering came in the Miami last. This was their first gathering in a last on American soil since the 2005 Miami last, and Federer won in straight sets, his fourth back to back prevail upon Nadal.

LIST OF ALL HEAD TO HEAD MATCHES

Singles

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1071"]                                   List of Federer- Nadal Matches[/caption]

Doubles



Pairing