27/01/2012 06:14 CEST - Australian Open

Record Breakers

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NO. 2 RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) v NO. 3 ROGER FEDERER (SUI)

Head-to-head: Nadal 17-9

2004 AMS Miami Hard (O) R32 Nadal 63 63
2005 AMS Miami Hard (O) FR Federer 26 67(4) 76(5) 63 61
2005 Roland Garros Clay (O) SF Nadal 63 46 64 63
2006 Dubai Hard (O) FR Nadal 26 64 64
2006 AMS Monte Carlo Clay(O) FR Nadal 62 67(2) 63 76(5)
2006 AMS Rome Clay (O) FR Nadal 67(0) 76(5) 64 26 76(5)
2006 Roland Garros Clay (O) FR Nadal 16 61 64 76(4)
2006 Wimbledon Grass (O) FR Federer 60 76(5) 67(2) 63
2006 Tennis Masters Cup Hard (I) SF Federer 64 75
2007 AMS Monte Carlo Clay (O) FR Nadal 64 64
2007 AMS Hamburg Clay (O) FR Federer 26 62 60
2007 Roland Garros Clay (O) FR Nadal 63 46 63 64
2007 Wimbledon Grass (O) FR Federer 76(7) 46 76(3) 26 62
2007 Tennis Masters Cup Hard (I) SF Federer 64 61
2008 AMS Monte Carlo Clay (O) FR Nadal 75 75
2008 AMS Hamburg Clay(O) FR Nadal 75 67(3) 63
2008 Roland Garros Clay (O) FR Nadal 61 63 60
2008 Wimbledon Grass (O) FR Nadal 64 64 67(5) 67(8) 97
2009 Australian Open Hard (O) FR Nadal 75 36 76(3) 36 62
2009 Madrid-1000 Clay (O) FR Federer 64 64
2010 Madrid-1000 Clay (O) FR Nadal 64 76(5)
2010 ATP World Tour Finals Hard (I) FR Federer 63 36 61
2011 Miami-1000 Hard (O) SF Nadal 63 62
2011 Madrid-1000 Clay (O) SF Nadal 57 61 63
2011 Roland Garros Clay (O) FR Nadal 75 76(3) 57 61
2011 ATP World Tour Finals Hard (I) RR Federer 63 60

To say that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have made tennis history would be an understatement. In this piece, we travel back in time to relive some of their famous duels, as the two players are set to break all sorts of records today, notoriously regarding the Grand Slam circuit.

Today’s semifinal will, for a start, be the tenth time that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer meet in a Slam, equalling Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe’s record. The Spaniard enjoys a clear advantage in these encounters, having won 7 out of their 9 Slam meetings, whilst losing only at Wimbledon in both 2006 and 2007. They haven’t met in a Major semi since 2005, when they faced off at Roland Garros, their first duel in a Slam.

Interestingly, Nadal is one of only two players to have a positive record against Roger Federer, the other being Andy Murray, who is leading 8-6.

It’s the fourth time in the history of tennis that two players who have won each slam at least once meet: Roy Emerson and Rod Laver did so twice, whilst Nadal and Federer had already pocketed all four Major titles by the time they met in Paris last year.

Nadal and Federer have also played each other in a record eight Slam finals, and until the 2009 edition of the US Open Federer had only ever lost to Rafa on such an occasion, before falling to Juan Martin del Potro at Flushing Meadows. Nadal had to wait until 2011 to be beaten someone other than Federer, when Djokovic defeated him both at Wimbledon and New York.

Nadal has a chance of reaching his fourth consecutive Slam final, and his 15th in total. Roger, for his part, has made his ninth consecutive semi Down Under, though he has his work cut out to catch up with Jimmy Connors, who is sitting cool on 12. This game won’t just be worth his 24th Slam final, but also his 233rd victory at this level, a record he would share with that rascal Connors.

It’s time now for us to pull the lever on our FedNad time machine, and take you back to some of the encounters that have defined this historic rivalry.

2004 NASDAQ-100 Open, Miami, 3rd RD. Nadal d. Federer 63 63
Big Rog was on top form coming into this one. Unbeaten so far, except for a defeat to Tim Henman in Rotterdam, the Swiss champion had already won both the Australian Open and Indian Wells, the latter against the gutsy Brit. Rafa, for his part, was a relative unknown, merely 17 years of age and ranked 34th. He would breeze past Roger on this occasion, in a mere 69 minutes: the first time since 2003 that Roger had lost to a left-handed player, the last being Franco Squillari in Sydney the previous year.

2005 NASDAQ-1OO Open, Miami, F. Federer d. Nadal 26 67(4) 76(5) 63 61
The two champions revisited the scene of the crime a year later, confirming its key role in their still-fledgling rivalry. This time however, it was Federer who prevailed in five, coming back from two-down after Nadal had led 4-1 in the third. Having won on the tiebreak, the man from Binningen found himself 5-3 down a set later, saving himself with a few ferociously-struck forehands. He had been a mere two points from defeat, and took his unbeaten run to a staggering 22 matches. It was the second time in his career that the Swiss legend had come back from such a disadvantage, the other being that marathon at Roland Garros, against Sargis Sargsian back in 2001.

2005 Roland Garros, Paris, SF. Nadal d. Federer 63 46 64 63
The Spaniard went one better the following year, as he extended his unbeaten run to 23 games in yet another semi-final defeat on clay for Federer. The latter had only lost 2 out of his previous 43 matches, but could do nothing against an opponent who broke him four times in the first set alone. Coming back in the second, he counter-broke in the third but was defenceless against yet another Nadal forehand winner. The Majorcan genius went on to win his first Grand Slam, beating Mariano Puerta in the final on his 19th birthday: a sort of deja-vu for Roger, who had lost in similar circumstances in the semis Down Under, against a Marat Safin who had turned 25 that very day.

2006 Masters Series Rome, F. Nadal d. Federer 67(0) 76(5) 64 26 76(5)
One of the games that defined the rivalry, not least because it took Nadal five hours and 15 minutes to finally break his opponent’s dogged resistance, their longest encounter to date. Roger ‘s two unforced errors made history, as he had been 6-5 up in the deciding tie break, dumping two forehands into the net. Roger was perfect in the first set, pushing his opponent back before finishing him off either with a slice or a powerful winner. Having played the perfect tie-break (7-0), Federer crumbled in the second and third before coming back in the fourth. Eventually, it was the Spanish magician who had the honours of equalling Vilas’s amazing record of 53 consecutive wins on clay, which he had established back in 1977.

2006 Roland Garros, F. Nadal d. Federer 16 61 64 76(4)
The first time Roger and Rafa ever met in a Roland Garros final, with the man from Binningen looking to be the first man since Rod Laver to win four Slams in a row, albeit not in the same year. Jean Claude Bouttier later commented that “a stylist is meeting a puncher at this match. Federer is Sugar Ray Leonard, Nadal is Marvin Hagler”. He certainly got that one right, as the Spaniard reacted to a perfect first set from the Swiss by taking a 2-1 lead, despite being 40-0 down on his service early in the second. Hoping that the tiebreak would save his bacon, Federer fell 7-4, whilst Rafa became the youngest player since Borg to successfully defend his title at the Porte d’Auteil. In reaching 14 consecutive final wins, he was only bested by Federer, who led on 24.

2006 Wimbledon, F. Federer d. Nadal 60 76(5) 67(2) 63
Roger got his revenge soon afterwards in Greenwich. And yet the Swiss champion had once more opted for the wrong strategy, hitting deep without much variation to his game, a tactic later criticised by Andre Agassi, who blamed his father for drilling it into him at a young age. In trying to beat his opponent at his own game, the Swiss man lost the third but did well to break through in the fourth. Federer became the sixth player to win four Wimbledon titles, also pocketing his eighth Slam final in the process.

2007 Wimbledon, F. Federer d Nadal 76(7) 46 76(3) 26 62
“This thing is killing me”: Roger’s opinion of Hawk-Eye technology said it all, as it had just given Nadal a lifeline after his backhand drive had just about skimmed the line, saving him from a counter-break point. Roger then distractedly dumped a forehand into the net. An amazing final, as Federer found himself 40-15 down on two occasions in the fifth before breaking thanks to a breath-taking forehand winner. It was Federer’s ninth consecutive Majors final and his fifth Wimbledon triumph, having beaten Nadal thanks to 65 winners (of which many would have been cross backhands) and 24 aces.

2008 Wimbledon F. Nadal d. Federer 64 64 67(5) 67(8), 97
The longest Wimbledon final in history. After 4 hours and 48 minutes, it was the Spanish legend who took home this much-coveted trophy, having had to play 62 games to get there. Guilty of having wasted far too many break points (11 out of 13), Federer crumbled in the second despite being 4-1 up. From the third onwards, both players cranked up the rhythm, to the point that this final ranks amongst the best encounters ever seen on the circuit, and probably the best final, too. The Spaniard sang in the rain, all right, as the weather forced two interruptions. Nadal even broke the rules in one of sport’s most formal events by climbing into the Royal Box. What else could we expect from a man so happy?

2009 Australian Open F. Nadal d. Federer 75 36 76(3) 36 62
The tears. This final will be remembered for the cascade which rushed down Roger’s cheeks, as he felt that adversary had now conquered the last Federerite redoubt. And to thin that Nadal had just played the Australian Open’s longest match, five hours and fourteen minutes to get rid of Fernando Verdasco. Nadal turned out to be the first player since Goran Ivanisevic to win a Slam after playing ten sets in his last two encounters. The first leftie to win Down Under since Petr Korda (1998), Nadal exploited Federer’s comparatively poor serving, playing a perfect tie-break in the third to go two-one up. Nadal showed his fighting qualities once more, despite having missed five break points when 3-2 up in the fourth. Federer, for his part, veered between patience and risk-taking, eventually achieving neither and crumbling in the fifth.

2011 Roland Garros F Nadal d. Federer 7-5, 7-6, 5-7 6-1
It wasn’t just numbers that allowed Nadal to triumph here, but they do help understand how the Roger Federer who had beaten Djokovic (playing without a doubt one of his most ruthless matches) disappeared when he had the first set in his grasp. With only 38% of second service points won, Rog’s 64 winners did not suffice in game where he made 56 unforced errors.

The Swiss champion blew the only set point he got, by side-spinning a forehand mere inches wide. Federer’s service seemed to go off the rails a little in the second, as Nadal took control of the tie break, winning it 7-3.

A fantastic reaction saw Roger come back from 2-4 down to claim the third, but it was to be his last hurrah, as he failed to exploit three break points early on in the fourth before collapsing, as his rival picked up his tenth career Slam.

Alessandro Mastroluca