Arguably the greatest rivalry in tennis history ran into a bit of a lull from the summer of 2014 through 2018, when only one such match was played at the Grand Slam level. In 2019, however, Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal appears to be coming back with a vengeance.
Federer and Nadal will face each other in a second consecutive slam semifinal after they won their respective quarterfinal contests at Wimbledon on Wednesday afternoon. Playing simultaneously on Centre Court and Court 1, respectively, Federer beat Kei Nishikori 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 and Nadal cruised past Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
Having previously gone without a major meeting since the 2017 Australian Open final (won by Federer in five sets), the two all-time greats just collided in the French Open semis. On Nadal’s stomping grounds, the King of Clay cruised 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on his eventual way to a 12th title at Roland Garros.
With that, he improved to 24-15 lifetime in the head-to-head series against Federer.
Now set for their 40th showdown, there are–of course–no secrets between two rivals who have combined for 38 Grand Slam titles.
“You know everything about Rafa like I do, too,” Federer told the press following his win over Nishikori. “I don’t think I really need to tell you what his strengths and weaknesses are. (He has) improved so much over the years on this surface. He’s playing also very different than he used to. (We) haven’t played each other in a long, long time on this surface. He’s serving way different. I remember back in the day how he used to serve, and now how much bigger he’s serving, how much faster he finishes points.
“It’s impressive to see how sort of healthy he’s stayed. A lot of them were saying, ‘Oh, it’s the end (for Nadal),’ by 2008. Similar to me in ’09. We’re still here. So it’s nice to play each other again.”
Still here? They are doing a lot more than that. Along with Novak Djokovic, they are still dominating. The “Big 3” have combined to win 10 consecutive slams and they have been overwhelming the competition throughout this fortnight at the All-England Club.
Djokovic and Nadal have lost only one set apiece through five rounds, while Federer has dropped two. The Spaniard survived Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in a predictably contentious second-round affair, but he otherwise cruised into “Federer-Nadal XL.”
“(I’m) excited to be back on this court against him after 11 years,” said Nadal, who last played–and beat–Federer at Wimbledon in perhaps the greatest match ever, the 2008 final. “(It) means a lot for me and probably for him, too. (I’m), excited about this match, excited about this opportunity to be again against him. Always I say the same: of course, the opportunities to play against each other are less, but we (are still here) still here.”
They’re still here. And from the looks of it, they aren’t anywhere close to going away. That’s good news for the rivalry, and even better news for the game.
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who ya got?
Not the best rivalry in tennis, which would be Nadal-Djokovic. I think Djokovic-Fed is better, too; they’ve played more times and beaten each other in every slam. The overall (and slam) record is more even as well.
more doesnt mean better. Fedal is better because its rare.
Nobody would love Christmas like they do if it came 4 times per year.
I’d say more under-cooked than rare. A few great matches and a lot of blow-outs. Not unrelated, way too many matches on clay.