Federer vs Nadal: GOAT, head-to-head, stats, all you need to know about the rivalry
The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is arguably the greatest in tennis history. Here is everything you need to know about it.
Federer and Nadal in Miami in 2005
Federer vs Nadal: Head-to-head
The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is considered by many as the greatest ever in men’s tennis. The Swiss poetic shot-making and variety perfectly contrast to the ferocity of the Spaniard’s groundstrokes, as Patrick McEnroe explains: “The reason why Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal is such an incredible rivalry is the contrast in styles and different personalities. One is a super aggressive lefty with his physicality and the other is the smoothest player out there.”
A Federer-Nadal game is commonly referred to as a “Fedal”. The two superstars have faced each other 40 times. 20 were on hard courts — 14 of them outdoors and 6 indoors — 16 were on clay, and four were played on grass.
Rafael Nadal ended the head-to-head winner, leading his longtime rival Federer 24-16 overall. In Grand Slams, the Spaniard leads 10-4.
In their first meeting in March 2004 in Miami, 17-year-old Rafael Nadal managed to stun the then world No 1, Roger Federer.
The Federer vs Nadal rivalry touched its peak between 2006 and 2009. The two players were then ranked world number one and two. In 2006, 2007, and 2008, Nadal and Federer clashed in the French Open and Wimbledon finals.
From 2008 to 2014, Nadal dominated the rivalry, he beat Federer 15 times for only four losses. At the end of 2014, Nadal led 23-10 in their matches. Technically speaking, left-handed Nadal made right-handed Federer suffer on the backhand crosscourt, especially the Spaniard’s heavy topspin on the forehand that bounced high was difficult for Federer with a single-handed backhand. On clay court, Rafael Nadal has a record of 14 wins and two defeats against the Swiss.
Quite surprisingly, Federer took control of the rivalry starting in 2015. After that, Roger Federer was 6-1 against the Mallorcan. Several changes in Federer’s racquet and backhand can explain the turnaround. Federer’s record against the Spaniard is positive on hard court, with 14 victories and 10 defeats. However, Nadal leads 8-6 on the away hard court. Nadal’s only win over Federer since 2014 came in the semi-finals of the 2019 French Open.
The two came face-to-face for the last time in the 2019 Wimbledon semi-finals, where Federer registered a 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
The complete list of their matches is available on the ATP website.
Have Federer and Nadal retired?
Yes. Both Federer and Nadal have retired from professional tennis.
The Swiss was the first to hang up his racquet — doing it at the Laver Cup in September 2022. In his final on-court appearance as a player on September 23, 2022, Federer memorably paired up with Nadal, his greatest rival, for a doubles duel, representing Team Europe against Team World’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe at the annual event in London’s O2 Arena.
The legendary duo lost the battle to Sock and Tiafoe 4-6, 7-6 (2), 11-9, before the tear-filled farewell began. The emotions spared no one during the historic night as Federer and Nadal were pictured holding hands with tears running down their eyes.
Nadal called it a day two years later on November 19, 2024. He played his last match for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals, losing 6-4, 6-4 to the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening singles battle of the quarter-final tie between the two nations.
Federer penned an emotional note for his longtime rival:
“As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional. Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge.
“I’m not a very superstitious person, but you took it to the next level. Your whole process. All those rituals. Assembling your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation, fixing your hair, adjusting your underwear… All of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique—it was so you. And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more.”
Federer vs Nadal: Who is better?
Ranking these two champions and selecting the GOAT is a hard task.
Nevertheless, here are a few facts to draw a comparison.
As of November 2024, Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam titles, two more than Federer (20).
Roger Federer has won 103 ATP singles titles in his career, which is broken down below:
- Grand Slams: 20
- ATP Finals : 6
- Masters 1000 : 28
- ATP 500: 24
- ATP 250 : 25
He also won the Davis Cup once in 2014 with the Swiss team.
He won the silver medal in singles at the 2012 London Olympics and the gold medal in doubles with Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
He has also lost 54 finals, including 11 in Grand Slams.
Rafael Nadal has won 92 ATP singles titles in his career, which is broken down below:
- Grand Slams: 22
- ATP Finals : 0
- Masters 1000 : 36
- ATP 500: 23
- ATP 250 : 10
He also lost 39 finals, including eight in Grand Slams.
Rafael Nadal has won the Davis Cup five times with Spain; in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.
The Spaniard won the gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a gold medal in doubles with Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Roger Federer has spent 310 weeks at world ATP No. 1, the longest in the Open Era, including an all-time-best 237 consecutive weeks from February 2004 to July 2008. Rafael Nadal has been world No. 1 for 209 weeks.
Federer and Nadal each finished five times world year-end world number one. Federer did it in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. Nadal did it in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019.
Who has the better statistics?
Federer won 1,251 matches in his career, compared to Nadal’s 1,080.
Roger Federer won 82% of the matches he has played in his career (1,251 wins to 275 losses).
Rafael Nadal won 82.6% of the matches he played in his career (1,080 wins to 227 losses).
- On hard courts, Federer won 83.4% of his matches, Nadal 77.5%.
- On clay, Federer won 76.1% of his matches, Nadal 90.5%, the King of clay !
- On grass, Federer won 86.8% of his matches, Nadal 79.1%.
Nadal has a 54% career point winning ratio, similar to Federer’s 54%. Federer is the better server: he has won 70% points on his serve versus 67% for Nadal. But Nadal is the better returner, one of the best on the tour: he has won an impressive 42% of return points in his career, compared to 40% for Federer.
Federer vs Nadal: What is their greatest match?
Wimbledon Final 2008
The 2008 Wimbledon final, which featured No.1 seed Federer and No.2 seed Nadal on July 8, 2008, is considered by many as the greatest match in tennis history. Even in the mouth of the 1980 finalists : Bjorn Borg described it as ‘the best tennis match I’ve ever seen in my life’ and John McEnroe as ‘the greatest match I’ve ever seen’. The explanation is threefold: the stakes of the game, the drama, and the level of play.
Federer won five consecutive titles at the All England Club from 2003 to 2007. He is one match away from overtaking Bjorn Borg, who also won five titles in a row from 1976 to 1980. In this final, Federer’s world No. 1 ranking, which he has held for more than four years, is also at stake.
Nadal and Federer faced each other in the last two finals in SW19, in 2006 and 2007, with Federer winning in four sets in 2006 and in five sets in 2007.
One month before the final, Nadal destroyed Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0 in the final of the 2008 French Open. At Wimbledon, the Spaniard came with a mental edge and led two sets to none. Roger Federer won the next two sets in a tiebreak. The fourth set tie-break was an absolute beauty. Federer saved a match point with a remarkable long line backhand pass. ‘It was this point, this shot, which gave the match a mythic quality”, Federer said later.
At dusk, in near darkness, Nadal collapsed on the Centre Court turf. At 22, he had just won his first Wimbledon title in his rival’s backyard, 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(8) 9-7.
The quality of tennis was truly exceptional this day. Nadal ended the match with 60 winners to 27 unforced errors and Federer with a ratio of 89 winners to 52 unforced errors, including that backhand in the net that led his rival to the glory.
2017 Australian Open Final
Seeing No. 17 seed Federer and No. 9 seed Nadal meeting in the 2017 Australian Open final was something of a surprise. Back then, Djokovic and Murray were ruling the tour, and both the Swiss and the Spaniard returned from month-long breaks due to injuries.
Federer and Nadal split the first four sets, not playing well at the same time. The finals became legendary in the fifth set. Nadal led by one break, 3 games to 1, and Federer aligned 5 games in a row, producing what could be his best tennis ever. At 35 and a half years old, he won his 18th major title against his biggest rival. The Swiss had not won a Grand Slam title since 2012 Wimbledon and had not beaten Nadal in a Grand Slam since 2007.
2007 Wimbledon Final
Overshadowed in history by its sister of the following year, the 2007 Wimbledon final was a game of sheer drama and beauty. Nadal had improved considerably compared to the previous year, and at the start of the fifth set, he seemed stronger. But the Swiss tightened the game at the moment he needed most and finally won 7-6 (7) 4-6 7-6 (3) 2-6 6-2.
He leveled Bjorn Borg with a 5th consecutive win at the All England Club. At the time, the final was praised as the greatest Wimbledon final since Borg – McEnroe in 1980. At the trophy ceremony, Federer prophesied: “I’m happy with every title I get before he takes them all!”. This victory remained for long Federer’s last over Nadal in Grand Slams, before the Swiss defeated the Spaniard again in 2017 Australian Open final.
2011 Roland Garros Final
The 2011 French Open final was a game of brilliant tennis quality. Nadal prevailed 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 in what is probably the best final the two rivals played in Paris.
Federer had never seemed so close to be able to beat Nadal in Roland-Garros. The Swiss may regret the outcome of the first set. As in 2006, Switzerland made a terrific start and got a set point at 5-2 on Nadal’s serve. The Swiss tried to end the point with a drop shot, out for some centimeters. He then failed to close the set on his serve at 5-3 and the Spaniard finally won 5 games in a row to secure the first set.
2006 Rome Masters 1000 final
The 2006 Rome Masters 1000 final is probably the greatest match between the two champions on the ATP tour, at a time when Masters 1000 finals were still played in 5 sets. In a dramatic scenario, Nadal prevailed in the final-set tie-break 6-7(0) 7-6(5) 6-4 2-6 7-6(5).
Federer vs Nadal: best point
This 26-shot rally, at 3-4, 40-A on Nadal’s serve in the fifth set of the 2017 Australian Open final can be considered as the greatest point between the two superstars.
Who is the better in Grand Slams?
Roger Federer ended his career with 20 Grand Slam titles, whereas Nadal, his Mallorcan rival, finished with 22 Major trophies.
Both players won all four Grand Slams in their careers.
Federer won eight titles at Wimbledon versus two for Nadal; six titles at the Australian Open versus two for Nadal and five titles at the US Open versus four for Nadal. However, Nadal won the French Open a record 14 times, while Federer has only one triumph in Paris.
In their Grand Slam encounters, Nadal leads 10 wins to four.
- At the Australian Open, Nadal leads 2-1 (1-1 in finals).
- At the French Open, Nadal defeated Federer five times, never losing (4-0 in finals).
- At Wimbledon, Federer leads 3-1 (2-1 in finals).
- The two players have never met at the US Open, which is a quirk of their rivalry.
Who has the best record against Novak Djokovic?
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are both led narrowly by Novak Djokovic in their respective head-to-heads. But Rafael Nadal leads the Serb at the Grand Slams.
Roger Federer won 23 times and lost 27 times against Djokovic. In Grand Slams, Federer is 6-11.
Rafael Nadal defeated the Serb 29 times and lost 31 times. In Grand Slams, he has a positive ratio: he is ahead of Djokovic 11-7.
Federer vs Nadal: Are they friends?
Federer and Nadal have great respect for each other and exemplify fair play in sport. They also shared moments off-courts that helped to build a strong relationship.
Roger Federer exposed his view on his friendship with Nadal in 2019 during the Laver Cup: “To be honest, we understand each other very, very well,” he told TVA Sports. “What I like about Rafa is how open and honest we are one another. We respect each other so much. Are we best friends? I do not think so. He has better friends than me and me too. But in the end, it’s about respect. When we fight on the court, we are rivals.”
Nadal shares this vision. In April 2019, in an interview with fans organized by his sponsor Movistar, the Spaniard said: “The concept of a friend for me has a lot of meaning and is very powerful. For me, language is a barrier to establishing a bond as strong as a friendship, for example, with Roger Federer. We have that, the rivalry and that our habits of life are very different. I would say that I do not have friends, but very good companions.”
These two champions share more time off the court than the ATP tour routine requires. In October 2016, Roger Federer came to Majorca responding to Rafael Nadal‘s invitation to inaugurate his Academy in Manacor.
The two superstars also played many exhibitions against each other. In February 2020, Rafael Nadal responded to Federer’s invitation to take part in a charity match with him in Cape Town, South Africa, the birthplace of Federer’s mother, on behalf of the Roger Federer Foundation. The game took place in front of a record crowd of 51,054 spectators. During this South African trip, the two players appeared to enjoy a close relationship.
For this occasion they had replayed a legendary promotional video that had been made ten years earlier for a previous charity match:
They also shared some close moments together during the Laver Cup in 2017, 2019, and 2022, as when they coached each other during their singles matches.
