the rivalry
Numerous commentators, former and current tennis players regard Roger Federer as the greatest tennis player of all time. With his records, championships, awards, unforgettable shots and matches, he managed to win the tennis world's affection. On the other note, Rafael Nadal is Federer's biggest rival and regarded as the greatest competitor by the same commentators and players. It is also said that he has the potential to be the greatest player of all time, by beating Federer. He has already became the greatest clay court player of all time.
The two players have played 33 times and Nadal leads their rivalry 23–10. They are the only pair of men who have been ranked no. 1&2 on the ATP Tour for 6 consecutive years, which happened between 2005–2010. According to the tennis analysts, their 2008 Wimbledon final widely considered to be the greatest match in the tennis history. The match lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes because of the rain delays, and Nadal defeated Federer 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(8–10), 9–7. The rivalry increased the interest in tennis after years. For instance, it was the first time in years when 2008 Wimbledon final was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The two players have played 33 times and Nadal leads their rivalry 23–10. They are the only pair of men who have been ranked no. 1&2 on the ATP Tour for 6 consecutive years, which happened between 2005–2010. According to the tennis analysts, their 2008 Wimbledon final widely considered to be the greatest match in the tennis history. The match lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes because of the rain delays, and Nadal defeated Federer 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(8–10), 9–7. The rivalry increased the interest in tennis after years. For instance, it was the first time in years when 2008 Wimbledon final was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Q: I have a different question for you. Everyone in tennis loves Roger, respects Roger. He is said to be the best of all time. Yet two out of every three times you play him, you win. You've won six of the last seven times. Who's a better player?
Rafael Nadal: You like this. You are focused on the Roger thing, eh? (laughter) If somebody says I am better than Roger, I think this person don't know nothing about tennis. That's my answer. Q: How so? R. Nadal: Why? Q. Yeah. R. Nadal: 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. It 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. [...] Q: Still, for the fans, it is interesting when you step on the court with him, you usually win. R. Nadal: Well, I am no. 2 in the world for 5 years, so I think I am a good player, too. Sure, I can beat him. No. 2 can beat no. 1. That's the thing. It's not a lot of difference between no. 2 and no. 1 or between no. 1 and no. 10. That's the tennis, and the tennis very close, the level, all the time. But I can beat him, yes. The same time, the thing is I beat him a lot of times on clay. I beat him on other surfaces, too. But the most of the times I beat him on clay, so I played with him more times on clay than on the rest of the surfaces. 29.05.2010 |
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