Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer penned an emotional tribute to his long-term rival, Rafael Nadal, on the Spaniard’s retirement video on Thursday (October 10). Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, announced on Instagram about his decision to retire at the end of this year’s Davis Cup season with Spain. The Spaniard has won the Davis Cup four times for his country, and he would hope to get the perfect ending by making it five for his career.
On his retirement video on Instagram, Federer replied to Nadal’s video post, “What a career, Rafa! I always hoped this day would never come. Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It’s been an absolute honor! 🙏🏼🎾”
https://x.com/thetennisletter/status/1844321195589792078
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: The rivalry
Federer and Nadal officially played each other 40 times, with the Spaniard finishing the rivalry with a 24-16 advantage. From 2006 through 2008, the duo played in every Roland Garros and Wimbledon final, with the Spaniard winning four of those finals. Their first meeting came at the Miami Open in 2004 when a teenage Nadal took down the World No.1 Federer in straight sets. This was a storyline that occurred multiple times throughout the earlier stages of their rivalry as Nadal used to stop the Swiss Maestro on multiple occasions across all surfaces.
The pivotal match between the two came at the 2008 Wimbledon final, which many consider as the greatest tennis match of all time. Nadal stopped Federer’s 40-match Wimbledon winning streak to win his first title at SW19. That win propelled him to put down the right-hander from the World No.1 ranking later on in the year as he won his first Olympic Gold medal in Beijing. Nadal officially became Federer’s nemesis after winning the 2009 Australian Open final, which was his first hard court Slam title. The left-hander reduced Federer to tears in the trophy ceremony and elevated his game to new heights.
Until the 2014 Australian Open, it was almost certain that Nadal had created a mental block in Federer’s head whenever he used to play his great rival. The head-to-head record at that moment was 23-10 in Nadal’s favor. However, after that, Federer made a few adjustments to his game, including a change in racket. With a new racket with a bigger frame size, Federer neutralized Nadal’s gameplan of playing it to the Swiss’ backhand. The Swiss Maestro eventually uncoded his great rival and wrapped up the rivalry by winning six of their last seven matches. The most memorable out of those matches happened to be at the 2017 Australian Open final, where Federer won his first Grand Slam match against Nadal in 10 years. It was his 18th Grand Slam title and his first in almost five years.
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
