PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – Rafael Nadal had a significant advantage over Roger Federer in their head-to-head record, but there was a period when the Swiss dominated him: “He was playing the best tennis of his life; I felt like he had me in his hands.”
Nadal broke down his rivalry with Federer from a tactical perspective in a way he’s rarely done before.
“My rivalry with Roger was more attractive to the fans than the one with Novak because with Roger the strategy was more clear. I was trying to do one thing, and he was doing exactly the opposite,” he told Andy Roddick on the Served podcast.
The North American traveled to Punta Cana to chat with Nadal. The Spaniard welcomed his former colleague at his newly opened ZEL hotel. On the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic — right during the week and the area where the Challenger 175 Copa Cap Cana is held— Nadal sat down with the 2003 US Open champion for an in-depth analysis of the battles that defined an era.
“I was trying to kill his backhand all the time. Even if I had the chance to hit down the line, I would tell myself that if I did it, it had to be either to go for the winner or to push him off the court and create enough space on the other side,” he explained.
“Roger, on the other hand, tried to avoid that and play more aggressively. Every time he hit forehands, I felt like I was one step behind. His forehand was the best I ever faced.”
“At the beggining, I beat him on clay, then there came a time when I managed to beat him on hard courts a couple of times. Early in his career, he made more mistakes—he tried to hit his backhand with topspin, which gave me chances to hurt him with my forehand,” recalled the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
“Towards the end of his career, he took a step forward and played much more aggressively. He started to go in, taking more risks. His serve became very unpredictable—I struggled a lot to read it. For me, in 2017, he played at the best level of his career. I felt like he had me in his hands.”
Nadal does see a exception: “On hard courts, of course. On clay, it was a little different!”
The head-to-head record between the two, which Nadal dominated 24-16, reached the 2017 season with a commanding 23-11 in favor of the left-hander. The iconic Australian Open final was a small turning point in the “Fedal” rivalry: that year, the Swiss won the four matches they played. Then, in 2019, they faced each other for the last two times. Nadal triumphed at Roland Garros, while Federer won at Wimbledon.
Nadal described those duels as “chess matches” because “everyone knew what was going to happen.” Unlike the Spanish player’s matches against Novak Djokovic, where, according to Nadal, he needed to play well rather than follow a specific strategy to win.
“I couldn’t attack his backhand too often, because he could put me in very difficult positions. Sometimes the slice worked well, and other times it was good to play down the middle and not give him too many angles. When you managed to open him up, if your shots didn’t cause enough damage, he could open up the court a lot. When it comes to ball control, Djokovic is the best player I’ve ever faced,” the former world number one concluded.
