Courtesy of livetennis.com
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have one of the greatest rivalries of all time in tennis and maybe in all sports. Federer has won sixteen Grand Slam singles titles; the most of any man ever. However, he has always had a thorn in his side with Rafael Nadal. As of May 2010, Nadal leads Federer with a head to head record of 14-7 with Nadal way out front according to the ATP World Tour. Against any other player Federer would definitely be considered the favorite, but this record clearly shows that he is the underdog against Nadal despite Federer having held the number one world ranking for about four and a half years consecutively.
An epic struggle in the constant battle between Nadal and Federer took place at the 2008 Wimbledon final. The, then ranked number two in the world player, Nadal defeated world number one Federer in four hours and forty four minutes. The match lasted throughout the whole day and had many rain delays. The match was won in near darkness that night. I believe that this was a turning point in their rivalry. After this, Nadal became number one for the first time and Federer was downgraded to number two.
There is a core difference between these two tennis greats, and I believe that it is the idea that Rafael plays with his heart; whereas, Roger plays more with his mind. Nadal plays every point like it is the match point of a Grand Slam final. I would think that this would cause him to tire out easily, but from the countless matches that I have seen Nadal play (I am an avid Nadal fan), he never has looked or played like he was winded. Now, let’s discuss Federer. He has been known to play his best only on the big points because obviously they are the most important, not that he does not play well on other points. It just seems that he lacks the constant intensity that Rafael has. Federer is more refined; whereas, Nadal is raw and passionate. In the upcoming US Open final (Sunday night), Nadal and Federer are poised to meet if they both make it through their semi final matches. Their potential meeting will be all the more interesting because Nadal has never won the US Open. It’s the one Grand Slam that still eludes him. Federer has five. Who will come out on top?
Created on September 4, 2010
An epic struggle in the constant battle between Nadal and Federer took place at the 2008 Wimbledon final. The, then ranked number two in the world player, Nadal defeated world number one Federer in four hours and forty four minutes. The match lasted throughout the whole day and had many rain delays. The match was won in near darkness that night. I believe that this was a turning point in their rivalry. After this, Nadal became number one for the first time and Federer was downgraded to number two.
There is a core difference between these two tennis greats, and I believe that it is the idea that Rafael plays with his heart; whereas, Roger plays more with his mind. Nadal plays every point like it is the match point of a Grand Slam final. I would think that this would cause him to tire out easily, but from the countless matches that I have seen Nadal play (I am an avid Nadal fan), he never has looked or played like he was winded. Now, let’s discuss Federer. He has been known to play his best only on the big points because obviously they are the most important, not that he does not play well on other points. It just seems that he lacks the constant intensity that Rafael has. Federer is more refined; whereas, Nadal is raw and passionate. In the upcoming US Open final (Sunday night), Nadal and Federer are poised to meet if they both make it through their semi final matches. Their potential meeting will be all the more interesting because Nadal has never won the US Open. It’s the one Grand Slam that still eludes him. Federer has five. Who will come out on top?
Created on September 4, 2010
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