Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are professional tennis players engaged in a storied rivalry, which many consider the greatest in the game's history.[1][2][3][4][5] Their first match was in 2004.[6]
Federer and Nadal are the only pair of men to have finished six consecutive calendar years as the top two ranked players on the ATP Tour, from 2005–2010.
Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 17–9, with 14 of those encounters having been on Nadals favoured clay court surface.[7] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals, and a record 9 Masters Series finals.[8]
From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final. Their 2008 Wimbledon final—which Nadal won—has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[9][10][11][12]
This is now part of the ongoing "Trivalry" in tennis, which this is the first component, and the other two are the rivalries of Djokovic–Nadal and Djokovic–Federer.[13][14][15]
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Federer and Nadal played their first match in March 2004 at the third round of the Miami Masters. Nadal, only 17 years old and ranked No. 34,[16] surprisingly won in straight sets.
Their second meeting was one year later, again in Miami, but this time in a best-of-five-set final. Federer recovered from a 2 set deficit to win in 5 sets.[17]
They played again two months later in the semifinals of the French Open, which was their first match on clay. Nadal defeated Federer in four sets en route to his first Grand Slam title.
In 2006, Nadal and Federer faced each other in six matches.
Nadal won the first four, beginning with the Dubai final in February. This was Federer's first loss of the year and ended his Open era record of 56 consecutive wins on hard courts.[18]
The spring clay season ensued, and Nadal continued his domination on clay, defeating Federer in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, the Rome Masters, and the French Open[19], in what was their first Grand Slam final. Federer quickly won the first set, but Nadal fought back and took the next three sets to capture his second French Open title.[8]
They faced off again a month later in the finals of Wimbledon, which was their first meeting on grass. Federer won in four sets to capture his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.[20][21]
They did not meet again until the semifinals of the year-end Masters Cup. Federer won in straight-sets en route to his third Masters Cup title in four years. Nadal's career head-to-head advantage was now 6–3.
Nadal and Federer faced each other five times in 2007, and Federer won three of the matches.
For the second straight year, Federer and Nadal played in three finals on clay. Nadal won the first meeting in straight sets for his third consecutive Monte Carlo title. A few weeks later they met at the Hamburg Masters, where Federer defeated him for the first time on clay,[22].
Their next encounter was the French Open final, and Nadal won their much-anticipated rematch in four sets, capturing his third consecutive French Open title.[8]
Their last two meetings in 2007 were also a repeat of 2006: the finals of Wimbledon and the semifinals of the Masters Cup. Once again Federer won both matches, though the Wimbledon final was much closer this time.[23]
Federer and Nadal played four times in 2008, and Nadal won each time, extending his career advantage to 12–6.
For the third straight year, Federer and Nadal played in three clay-court finals. Nadal beat Federer in the Monte Carlo Masters for the third straight year, capturing his Open era record fourth consecutive title there.[8] A few weeks later Nadal avenged his only clay-court loss to Federer by defeating him in three sets for his first Hamburg Masters title.
Also for the third straight year, they played in the finals of the French Open. Nadal won his fourth consecutive French Open title, in a lopsided match.[8]
Nadal and Federer also met in the finals of Wimbledon for the third straight year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry.[24][25][25][26] Amidst rain delays, they played the longest final in Wimbledon history (4 hours and 48 minutes), and Nadal captured the title by winning the fifth set 9–7 in near-darkness.[9][10][11][12]
Federer and Nadal played each other only twice in 2009, splitting their matches.
Both players began the year strong, reaching the finals of the Australian Open. This was the first hard court Grand Slam final for Nadal, but Federer was undefeated in 8 hard court finals (5 US Open, 3 Australian). [27] The final was a long match (4 hours and 23 minutes), with Nadal prevailing in the five sets.[5][27][28]
Federer rebounded at the Madrid Masters, defeating Nadal in the final in straight sets.[29]
In 2010, Federer and Nadal played twice, with Nadal winning the first and Federer winning the second match.
The two met in the final of the Madrid Open, for the first time in the ATP World Tour season, one year after their last match, and Nadal defeated Federer 6–4, 7–6.
Then, in the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals' final they met in their last match of the year for both, and Federer won it 6–3, 3–6, 6–1. With this match the Federer–Nadal rivalry is 14–8 for Nadal.
In 2011, Federer and Nadal played four times, with Nadal winning the first three and Federer winning the last match.
In their first match of 2011, Federer and Nadal met in the semi-final of the Miami Masters Series 1000 event. Nadal came out on top comfortably with a 6–3, 6–2 margin. [30]
Their second match, at the Mutua Madrid Open, also came in the semi-final stage but was a closer affair, with Nadal winning 5–7, 6–1, 6–3. [31]
In the third meeting, Federer and Nadal met in their 8th Grand Slam Final at the 2011 French Open, the pair's first Grand Slam meeting since the 2009 Australian Open final. Nadal beat Federer 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–1 in 3 hours and 40 minutes to win his 10th Major title and 6th French Open crown, equaling Björn Borg.[32]
Their final meeting of the year came in the round-robin stages of the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, held at the O2 arena in London. It was a rematch of the previous year's final, and Federer won the match 6–3, 6–0. With this victory Federer improved to 9–17 in their head to head.[33]
The rivalry has been a huge part of both men's careers. Federer had the most dominant four-year run in tennis history from 2004 through 2007.[34] His overall match record was 315–24, but this included a mere 6–8 against Nadal, who was the only man to have a winning record against him. Moreover, Nadal denied Federer a Career Grand Slam and two Calendar Year Grand Slams (in 2006 and 2007) by defeating him at the French Open every year from 2005 to 2008, but Federer succeeded in 2009 after Nadal was beaten in the fourth round. Federer also prevented Nadal from winning the ATP World Tour Finals, beating him in the 2010 finals.
Both men not only possess Open era records for consecutive wins on a single surface — Federer on both grass (65) and hard courts (56), Nadal on clay (81), but each of these streaks was broken by the other man. Their respective dominance on grass and clay was the impetus for the "Battle of Surfaces", an exhibition match on a half-grass, half-clay court in May 2007.[35]
Their Grand Slam histories are of particular interest, especially their all-time record eight finals encounters[8] and the fact that all but three (Federer–Del Potro, 2009 US Open and Nadal–Djokovic, 2011 Wimbledon and 2011 US Open) of their losses in Grand Slam finals are to each other; Federer is 2–6 against Nadal, who has had to defeat Federer during each of his first six title runs — five times in the final and once in a semifinal. Also, their 2008 Wimbledon final is widely considered the greatest match in tennis history.[9][10][11][12]
Their record six consecutive calendar years atop the rankings is due in large part to their unprecedented combined performance in Grand Slams, as they have captured 22 of the last 27 titles (12 for Federer, 10 for Nadal) from the 2005 French Open through the 2011 French Open. This includes an all-time record 11 consecutive titles from the 2005 French Open through the 2007 US Open. Furthermore, Federer won three titles in 2004, increasing the total to 25 of 32, and Wimbledon 2003 resulting in 26 of the last 34.
They have also dominated in other tournaments, such as combining for 31 of the 54 Masters Series titles from 2005 through 2010 (13 for Federer (17 total) and all-time record 18 for Nadal), including 8 of 9 in 2005 (4 each).
The following is a breakdown of their head-to-head results:[7]
Nadal and Federer have played 14 of their 26 matches on clay due to the fact that they have consistently been the best two clay court players since 2005.[36] Nadal has generally dominated on the surface. From 2005–2008, he won every French Open, defeating Federer each time (2005 semi-final and 2006–2008 finals), and won at least 2 of the 3 clay Masters events each year from 2005–2010, defeating Federer in 6 of those. As a result, some analysts and players, such as Pat Cash and Conchita Martínez, consider Nadal the greatest clay-court player ever.[37] Nadal has won all of their seven meetings in best of five set matches on clay.
Federer has won 5 of their 9 matches on hard courts. An important distinction is the relative success of the two players on indoor vs outdoor hard courts. In the former Federer is currently in the ascendancy 4-0. On outdoor Hard courts Nadal leads 4-1. The quicker conditions of the indoor hard courts fits Federer's style more readily.
Federer has been the best hard court player since 2004, winning 9 of the 15 hard court Grand Slam tournaments and 6 of the 9 Masters Cups, plus a record 4 wins at Cincinnati. Nadal has always had solid results on hard courts, winning 9 tournaments since 2005, including five Masters Series. But he has improved considerably over the years, reaching the semifinals of both hard court Grand Slams for the first time in 2008, winning the 2008 Olympics Singles tournament, defeating Federer in the Australian Open final in early 2009, and winning the US Open for the first time in 2010.
Despite Nadal's success on hard courts, some analysts have criticized his lack of consistency in reaching tournament finals for skewing the overall head-to-head results. They contend that more hard court encounters, especially in the early years of the rivalry, would likely have resulted in a better winning percentage for Federer. Some disagree with this argument, however, for two reasons. The first being that Nadal is five years younger than Federer, and thus only started to reach hard court finals more consistently, once he reached his peak, similar to Federer reaching clay masters finals at about the same stage in his career. Secondly, out of their first four matches three were on hard courts, with Nadal winning two of these, and also the one on clay.[38] [11][39]
As with clay, Federer and Nadal have been the two best players on grass for the last 5 years. Federer has been the preeminent grass player since 2003, winning 5 consecutive Wimbledons from 2003 to 2007. Nadal has steadily improved on grass, playing Federer in three consecutive Wimbledon finals from 2006–2008, with better results each time. From 2003 to 2010, Federer and Nadal have swept the Wimbledon title, Federer in 2003–07, 2009 and Nadal in 2008 and 2010. One of the reasons for Nadal's success is that in recent years Wimbledon management has firmed up their courts to make them more durable. Some say this has created the side-effect that the new courts play slower.[40][41]
| “ | I am more than happy with my titles, and I think talk about if I am better or worse than Roger is stupid because the titles say he's much better than me, so that's the truth at that moment. I think that will be true all my life.[42] | ” |
Federer is considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[43] Some, however, argue that despite Federer's record 16 Grand Slam titles, he should not be considered the greatest ever with an 9–17 record against Nadal. Others analyze the head-to-head matches by surface and conclude that Nadal's edge comes from his 12–2 record against Federer on clay. Federer has achieved the majority of his success on grass (6 Wimbledon titles) and hardcourts (5 US Open titles and 4 Australian Open titles), whereas Nadal has achieved his greatest success on clay (6 French Open titles). It is argued that the fact that the majority of their matches have been on Nadal's most successful surface and Federer's least successful demonstrates that Federer has long been the second best clay court player in the world to Nadal. Nadal has also has been a member of multiple Spanish Davis Cup wining teams, which Federer has never accomplished. Both men have an Olympic gold medal – Nadal in singles and Federer in doubles.
Federer has been more successful than Nadal on hard courts because he hits a flatter forehand and has a faster serve. Hard courts are a fast surface, so Federer's flatter shots result in a lower bouncing, faster moving trajectory. Thus, Nadal's topspin is least effective on hard courts, because it doesn't bounce up as high to Federer's backhand, enabling Federer to return it better. Nadal has improved his serving speed and placement over the years, but Federer still serves faster on average and earns more aces and service winners.[44]
While Nadal is supposedly weaker on faster surfaces, the lack of a true bounce on both clay and grass may be the true secret to why Nadal is better on grass and clay than on hard court. Nadal has won on the very surface at the Olympics (identical to the US Open surface) and he has won the Australian Open (thought to be a slower hard court surface, but still much faster than clay) the US Open (the faster hard courts) and he has won several Masters Series in both the Spring and Summer.
During interviews, people like fellow player Andy Murray and former player and coach Paul Annacone have called Nadal one of the best tennis players ever.[45] In November 2010, Bjorn Borg said that Federer is the greatest player, but "Rafa has the chance to be the greatest player" if he stays healthy. John McEnroe said, "there is an argument to be made that Rafael Nadal may be the greatest player eventually, even possibly now."[46] In response to a question posed by a journalist at the 2010 French Open regarding whether Nadal is better than Federer, Nadal replied, "I think this person don't know nothing about tennis." The journalist asked why, and Nadal told the journalist, "so you don't know nothing about tennis. You see the titles of him and you see the titles of me? It's no comparison. So that's the answer. Is difficult to compare Roger with me now, because he has 16 Grand Slams; I have 6. Masters 1000, yeah, I have more than him. But for the rest of the things the records of Roger is very, very almost impossible to improve."[47][48] At the press conference following his semi-final win in the 2010 U.S. Open Nadal was asked whether his head-to-head advantage over Federer means he is better. Nadal replied, "Head to head is not an element for me. Is a part of the statistics, but is not the decisive element."[49]
Both Federer and Nadal's personal and professional relationship is good-natured and gracious.[50] Though they are both highly competitive, they maintain a healthy regard for each other and have had virtually no source of personal animosity. The lone issue, albeit minor, was Federer's complaint about Nadal's slow, deliberate style of play on the eve of the 2008 Wimbledon final.[51]
Despite their cordial relationship, both men have a somewhat different attitude towards their rivalry. When Federer was securely atop the tennis world he was ambivalent towards the notion of a rivalry with an opponent five years younger than himself.[52][53] But after their memorable 2008 Wimbledon final he had no choice but to acknowledge its significance, even admitting "it definitely becomes more and more special the more times we play against each other."[53] A few weeks later, after Nadal had officially surpassed him in the rankings, Federer offered this compliment: "Look at what he had to achieve to get it. That's what I like to see."[54] Nadal has always cherished the rivalry because he looks up to Federer as both a role model and a measuring stick for success.[55][56]
When interest in their rivalry increased, however, both Federer and Nadal collaborated to arrange occasional charity exhibition matches to benefit their charities' philanthropic interests. The most recent was the Match for Africa, played on 21 December 2010 in Zurich, Switzerland (Federer won 4–6, 6–3, 6–3) and a follow-up match played in Madrid on the following day, titled "Joining Forces for the Benefit of Children" (Nadal won 7–6, 4–6, 6–3).
The rivalry has also increased overall interest in tennis. The highly-anticipated 2008 Wimbledon final drew strong television ratings for tennis in both the U.S. and across Europe.[10][57] The match was also featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which was the first time in years that tennis made the cover.[11][58]
ATP, Davis Cup, and Grand Slam main draw results included.[7]
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| No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | Length (H:MM) | Sets | Federer | Nadal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2004 | Miami | Hard | R32 | Nadal | 6–3, 6–3 | 1:10 | 2/3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2. | 2005 | Miami | Hard | Final | Federer | 2–6, 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–3, 6–1 | 3:43 | 5/5 | 1 | 1 |
| 3. | 2005 | French Open | Clay | Semi-final | Nadal | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 | 2:47 | 4/5 | 1 | 2 |
| 4. | 2006 | Dubai | Hard | Final | Nadal | 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 | 1:53 | 3/3 | 1 | 3 |
| 5. | 2006 | Monte Carlo | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–2, 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 7–6(7–5) | 3:50 | 4/5 | 1 | 4 |
| 6. | 2006 | Rome | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–7(0–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5) | 5:05 | 5/5 | 1 | 5 |
| 7. | 2006 | French Open | Clay | Final | Nadal | 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(7–4) | 3:02 | 4/5 | 1 | 6 |
| 8. | 2006 | Wimbledon | Grass | Final | Federer | 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 | 2:58 | 4/5 | 2 | 6 |
| 9. | 2006 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | Semi-final | Federer | 6–4, 7–5 | 1:53 | 2/3 | 3 | 6 |
| 10. | 2007 | Monte Carlo | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–4, 6–4 | 1:35 | 2/3 | 3 | 7 |
| 11. | 2007 | Hamburg | Clay | Final | Federer | 2–6, 6–2, 6–0 | 1:55 | 3/3 | 4 | 7 |
| 12. | 2007 | French Open | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 | 3:10 | 4/5 | 4 | 8 |
| 13. | 2007 | Wimbledon | Grass | Final | Federer | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 | 3:45 | 5/5 | 5 | 8 |
| 14. | 2007 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | Semi-final | Federer | 6–4, 6–1 | 0:59 | 2/3 | 6 | 8 |
| 15. | 2008 | Monte Carlo | Clay | Final | Nadal | 7–5, 7–5 | 1:43 | 2/3 | 6 | 9 |
| 16. | 2008 | Hamburg | Clay | Final | Nadal | 7–5, 6–7(3–7), 6–3 | 2:52 | 3/3 | 6 | 10 |
| 17. | 2008 | French Open | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 | 1:48 | 3/5 | 6 | 11 |
| 18. | 2008 | Wimbledon | Grass | Final | Nadal | 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(8–10), 9–7 | 4:48 | 5/5 | 6 | 12 |
| 19. | 2009 | Australian Open | Hard | Final | Nadal | 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–2 | 4:23 | 5/5 | 6 | 13 |
| 20. | 2009 | Madrid | Clay | Final | Federer | 6–4, 6–4 | 1:26 | 2/3 | 7 | 13 |
| 21. | 2010 | Madrid | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–4, 7–6(7–5) | 2:10 | 2/3 | 7 | 14 |
| 22. | 2010 | London | Hard (i) | Final | Federer | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 | 1:37 | 3/3 | 8 | 14 |
| 23. | 2011 | Miami | Hard | Semi-final | Nadal | 6–3, 6–2 | 1:18 | 2/3 | 8 | 15 |
| 24. | 2011 | Madrid | Clay | Semi-final | Nadal | 5–7, 6–1, 6–3 | 2:36 | 3/3 | 8 | 16 |
| 25. | 2011 | French Open | Clay | Final | Nadal | 7–5, 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–1 | 3:40 | 4/5 | 8 | 17 |
| 26. | 2011 | London | Hard (i) | RR | Federer | 6–3, 6–0 | 1:00 | 2/3 | 9 | 17 |
| No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | Opponents | Federer | Nadal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2004 | Indian Wells | Hard | R32 | Nadal/Robredo | 5–7, 6–4, 6–3 | Federer/Allegro | 0 | 1 |
| 2. | 2007 | Rome | Clay | R32 | Nadal/Moya | 6–4, 7–6(7–5) | Federer/Wawrinka | 0 | 2 |
| 3. | 2011 | Indian Wells | Hard | SF | Federer/Wawrinka | 7–5, 6–3 | Nadal/M. Lopez | 1 | 2 |
Nadal 5-2.
On 21 November 2006 they played an exhibition match on a hard court in Seoul, South Korea. Federer won 6–3, 3–6, 6–3.[59]
On 2 May 2007 they played in the "Battle of Surfaces" on a hybrid court that was half clay and half grass. This match was held at the Palma Arena in Palma, the capital city of Nadal's native Mallorca. Nadal won 7–5, 4–6, 7–6.[60]
On 21 December 2010 they played in Zürich, Switzerland on a hard court a charity tennis match for the Roger Federer Foundation. Federer won 4–6, 6–3, 6–3. They played another exhibition match on December 22, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. Nadal won 7–6, 4–6, 6–1. This was a charity tennis match for the Fundación Rafa Nadal (Rafael Nadal Foundation).
On 1 January 2011 they played in the final of the knockout exhibition tournament; the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on a hard court. Federer had beaten Söderling in the previous round and Nadal had beaten Berdych in the previous round. Nadal won the encounter by a score of 7–6, 7–6.
On 8 March 2011 the two played a set at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Nadal won the charity exhibition 7–5.
On 31 December 2011 they played again at Mubadala 2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship (December) on a hard court, this time for third place. Nadal won again 6–1, 7–5.
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | SF-B | F | NMS |
Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-Off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).
| Player | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | |
| Roger Federer | LQ | 1R | 1R | LQ | 3R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 3R | QF | QF | 4R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 1R | W | 4R | W | 3R | W | W |
| Rafael Nadal | A | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | A | A | 3R | ||||||||||||||||
| Player | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | |
| Roger Federer | SF | SF | W | W | W | F | W | W | W | F | W | W | SF | F | F | W | F | W | W | F | W | QF | QF | SF |
| Rafael Nadal | 4R | W | 2R | 3R | A | W | F | QF | QF | W | F | 4R | SF | W | W | SF | W | 4R | A | SF | QF | W | W | W |
| Player | 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | |
| Roger Federer | SF | F | QF | SF |
| Rafael Nadal | QF | W | F | F |
Federer and Nadal were born about five years apart. Federer's birthday is August 8, 1981, while Nadal's is June 3, 1986. A different viewpoint of their career evolution is offered by taking the season they entered with an age of 17 as starting point. For instance in 2004, Federer started the season being 22 years old; at the end of that season, he accumulated a career record of four Grand Slam titles, a total of 22 singles titles and his final ranking was No. 1 at 23 years old.
| Age (end of season) | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federer's season | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Nadal's season | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Grand Slam titles | Federer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | (16) |
| Nadal | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 10 | (10) | ||||||
| Grand Slam match wins | Federer | 0 | 7 | 20 | 26 | 39 | 61 | 85 | 112 | 138 | 162 | 188 | 208 | 228 | (228) |
| Nadal | 6 | 19 | 36 | 56 | 80 | 95 | 120 | 143 | (143) | ||||||
| Total titles | Federer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 45 | 53 | 57 | 61 | 66 | 70 | (70) |
| Nadal | 1 | 12 | 17 | 23 | 31 | 36 | 43 | 46 | (46) | ||||||
| Total match wins | Federer | 15 | 51 | 100 | 158 | 236 | 310 | 391 | 483 | 551 | 617 | 678 | 743 | 807 | (807) |
| Nadal | 45 | 124 | 183 | 253 | 335 | 401 | 472 | 541 | (541) | ||||||
| Ranking | Federer | 64 | 29 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | (3) |
| Nadal | 51 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | (2) | ||||||
| Weeks at number 1 | Federer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 100 | 152 | 204 | 237 | 262 | 285 | 285 | 285 |
| Nadal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 46 | 76 | 102 | 102 | ||||||
| Year | Australian Open | French Open | Wimbledon | US Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Andre Agassi | Juan Carlos Ferrero | Roger Federer | Andy Roddick |
| 2004 | Roger Federer | Gastón Gaudio | Roger Federer | Roger Federer |
| 2005 | Marat Safin | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer | Roger Federer |
| 2006 | Roger Federer | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer | Roger Federer |
| 2007 | Roger Federer | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer | Roger Federer |
| 2008 | Novak Djokovic | Rafael Nadal | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer |
| 2009 | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer | Roger Federer | Juan Martín del Potro |
| 2010 | Roger Federer | Rafael Nadal | Rafael Nadal | Rafael Nadal |
| 2011 | Novak Djokovic | Rafael Nadal | Novak Djokovic | Novak Djokovic |
| 2012 |
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