Rafael Nadal announced his retirement on his Instagram account on October 10, 2024. The Spaniard expressed his desire to finish his career at the Davis Cup finals with Spain. The left-hander was expected to retire at the Laver Cup in Berlin, similar to how his great-rival Roger Federer did. However, that didn’t materialize, and then Nadal announced his availability for Spain’s Davis Cup ties. With the finishing line of Nadal’s career in sight, here is a look back into the five best matches of his career.
5. 2013 French Open semifinal vs Novak Djokovic
When Novak Djokovic came to the spotlight in 2011, the alarm bells were ringing in the camps of both Federer and Nadal. However, the Serb was mostly coming up against the left-hander after potentially his greatest season in 2011. One of the landmarks that Djokovic tried to attain was to beat Nadal at Roland Garros. Only Robin Soderling managed to accomplish that feat by then. However, the 2013 semifinal presented Djokovic with an opportunity to make himself a formidable player on clay.
Djokovic had beaten Nadal on clay earlier at the Monte Carlo final, snapping the Spaniard’s nine-year hold on the Masters 1000 title. However, Nadal at Roland Garros is a different ball game altogether. The 2013 Roland Garros semifinal was a titanic tussle, similar to the final at the Australian Open in 2012, with players getting a shift in momentum. Eventually, it was Nadal who prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7 9-7. The Spaniard was on course to win the match in four sets when he served for the match at 6-5. However, Djokovic broke back before winning the tiebreak 7-3.
Djokovic appeared to have completely turned the match around completely after getting the break in the first game of the final set. However, the pivotal point came in the eighth game of the final set, where Djokovic hit the net while attempting a smash. This shift in momentum got Rafa the break back. The left-hander carried the momentum before eventually breaking Djokovic again in the 16th and final game of the match.
4. 2009 Australian Open semifinal vs Fernando Verdasco
At the 2009 Australian Open, stars were aligned for Federer as he chased a 14th Grand Slam title. This would put him alongside Pete Sampras as the biggest collector of Grand Slam titles. However, Nadal also had a point to prove regarding his hard court credentials. Until this tournament, Nadal had not won a Grand Slam on a hard court, with four of his five Grand Slam titles coming on clay. In the semifinals, the King of Clay met his countryman, Fernando Verdasco, and the two Spanish titans put on a classic.
Verdasco, who came into this match after beating Andy Murray earlier in the tournament, produced arguably the greatest performance of his career. However, as it happens many times against the greatest players, even that isn’t enough. Nadal eventually won 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4 in over five hours, with the match starting on 30th January and ending on the 31st. The most unfortunate thing about this match was that it ended with a double fault. Nadal fell to the floor, and his helpless opponent succumbed to his knees with sadness.
3. 2017 Australian Open final vs Roger Federer
The 2017 Australian Open final was something that nobody expected. Only a few months ago, before that tournament, Federer and Nadal were at the opening of the Spaniard’s tennis academy in Mallorca, with both players only limiting themselves to playing an exhibition with some juniors. However, with the decline in the level of both Djokovic and Murray, the two older rivals recovered their younger forms and started putting everyone to the sword. Eventually, the duo played in the Australian Open final, which was their first match in Grand Slam since the semifinal in Melbourne three years earlier.
Federer had made adjustments to his game, including a change in the racket that had a bigger frame. That eventually played a huge difference as he nullified Nadal’s tactic to create a cage on his backhand. With his backhand firing, Federer was at his relentless best as he attacked Nadal from both sides. Despite being down 3-1 in the final set, Federer’s relentless attacking instinct made him win the last five games. The Swiss Maestro clinched his 18th Grand Slam title and his fifth in Australia by beating his great rival 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3. It was his first Grand Slam win over Nadal since the 2007 Wimbledon final.
2. 2008 Wimbledon final vs Roger Federer
The 2008 French Open final was the most lopsided match in the storied rivalry of Federer and Nadal. The Spaniard assured his dominance on clay with a fourth consecutive oland Garros title, once again denying Federer in the final. The Spaniard beat the Swiss in an astonishing 6-1 6-3 6-0 scoreline, which till the end of Federer’s career, remained his most lopsided Grand Slam defeat. The nature in which Nadal demolished Federer eventually had a role to play in their Wimbledon final one month earlier.
In the 2008 Wimbledon final, Nadal started on an aggressive note, winning the first two sets 6-4 6-4. The Spaniard appeared to be on the cusp of handing Federer another straight-set defeat in Grand Slams as he had three break point chances earlier in the third set. However, Federer eventually woke up and started serving well. The Swiss won the third set on the tiebreak. However, the level of tennis hit fourth gear in the fourth set. In another tiebreak, there was back and forth in terms of momentum as Nadal initially had the match on his racket at 5-2. However, the occasion became too big for him as Federer won the next four points to stand at set point, but Nadal denied him again.
Federer saved two championship points in the fourth set tiebreak, including one on Nadal’s serve to take it to a fifth set. There were celebrations in Federer’s game and many expected the Swiss to deny his great rival on grass once again. However, a stoppage in play in the fifth set due to a rain delay gave Nadal a chance to regroup. The left-hander came out determined before securing the pivotal break in the 15th game of the final set. Nadal eventually wrapped up the match as Federer hit the forehand in the net on his fourth match point.
1. 2012 Australian Open final vs Novak Djokovic
The 2012 Australian Open final gave Nadal an opportunity to the right the wrongs of the previous year against Djokovic. The Spaniard had played the Serb on six occasions in 2011, with Djokovic winning on every occasion. Two of their matches came in Grand Slams. In 2012, Nadal and Djokovic competed in the Australian Open final, and produced arguably the greatest grand slam final of all time. Djokovic appeared to have handed Nadal another defeat as he looked certain to win in four sets, but Nadal refused to get broken later on, saving three break points before securing the fourth set tiebreak 7-6.
Nadal appeared to have had the advantage earlier on as he broke for a 4-2 lead. However, an easy backhand pass at 30/15 brought Djokovic back into the game and the match. With both the players appearing to end their fuels, Djokovic won 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 7-5 in 5 hours and 53 minutes. Nadal’s defeat marked the first time that a player had finished three consecutive Grand Slam events as the runners-up. It was Djokovic’s fifth Grand Slam title and third in Australia, after earlier success in 2008 and 2011.
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