If you follow Tennis, then you’ve definitely heard of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. These two tennis legends are regarded as the best tennis players not only of their generation but of all time. Furthermore, they have been at the top of their game, ruling the sport for the longest time. It is only obvious that they have been compared to each other on several occasions. Moreover, in this article, we will do just that, we shall look at a detailed head to head comparison of Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal. Hopefully, by the end of the article, you can choose your favorite from the two legends of the sport.
Start Of The Nadal And Federer Era
We shall take a look at the early years of the two tennis legends
Roger Federer
To begin with, Roger Federer was born on 8th August 1981, in Basel, Switzerland. Moreover, he holds South African as well as Swiss citizenship since his mother is South African. During his childhood, Federer served as a ball boy at the Basel tournament in his hometown. As a child, Federer was into a wide range of sports, including badminton as well as basketball. Furthermore, he claims that playing these sports helped in his hand-eye coordination.
Federer’s major accomplishments during the early years of his career came when he won Wimbledon in 1998. Not only did he win the singles but also the doubles category teamed with Olivier Rochus. Furthermore, Federer reached the US Open Junior Finals that same year. Later, in the year 1999 Federer reached the top 100 rankings for the first time as a professional Tennis player. Moreover, his career skyrocketed ever since and he still continues to be a dominating figure in the world of tennis.
Rafal Nadal
The Spaniard Rafael Nadal was born on 3rd June 1986 in a town on the island of Mallorca. His father was a businessman, but his uncles were heavily involved in sports and also played at major levels. Furthermore, it was his uncle who was a tennis coach, that introduced young Nadal to the sport of tennis at the age of three. Then at a young age, 8 Nadal won a U-12 regional championship. Moreover, this was at a time he was also a promising young footballer. However, his uncle Toni Nadal saw promise in the youngster and increased the intensity of his tennis training.
Nadal was made to choose between football and tennis so that his studies wouldn’t get hindered. Later at the age of 14 looking at the promise in the youngster, the Spanish Tennis Federation requested a move to Barcelona. However, his family turned down the offer as they didn’t want his studies to suffer. The Spaniard won his first exhibition match against Grand Slam Winner Pat Cash in 2001 and has been in close competition with Roger Federer since he rose through the ranks.
Additionally, click here to read about the Spanish Tennis Federation.
Roger Federer Vs Rafael Nadal Head To Head Statistics
ATP 500
| Rafael Nadal | Serve | Roger Federer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 / 170 | Ace % | 21 / 159 |
| 23 / 29 | Service Games Won % | 25 / 29 |
| 4 / 29 | Return Games Won % | 6 / 29 |
| Total | ||
| 156 / 329 | Total Points Won % | 173 / 329 |
| 27 / 58 | Games Won % | 31 / 58 |
| 3 / 6 | Sets Won % | 3 / 6 |
| 1 / 2 | Matches Won % | 1 / 2 |
To begin with, in the ATP 500, Nadal has got only 1 ace service out of 170 against Federer. On the other hand, Federer has got 21 aces out of 159. Furthermore, Nadal has won 23 games on his service against Roger. Whereas, Federer has won 25 games on his service. Additionally, Nadal has won 4 return games and Federer has won 6. Furthermore, Nadal has won 156 points against Federer out of a total of 329 points and has won 27 games out of 58. Whereas, Federer has won 173 points out of 329 and has won 31 games out of 58. Lastly, both have won 3 sets and 1 match each against each other in the ATP 500.
Tour Finals
| Rafael Nadal | Serve | Roger Federer |
| 5 / 282 | Ace % | 37 / 271 |
|---|---|---|
| 34 / 48 | Service Games Won % | 46 / 52 |
| 6 / 52 | Return Games Won % | 14 / 48 |
| Total | ||
| 247 / 553 | Total Points Won % | 306 / 553 |
| 40 / 100 | Games Won % | 60 / 100 |
| 3 / 11 | Sets Won % | 8 / 11 |
| 1 / 5 | Matches Won % | 4 / 5 |
Similarly, in the Tour Finals, Nadal has got only 5 ace services out of 282 against Federer. Whereas, Federer has got 37 aces out of 271. Furthermore, Nadal has won 34 games on his service against Roger. Whereas, Federer has won 46 games on his service. Additionally, Nadal has won 6 return games whereas Federer has won 14. Furthermore, Nadal has won 247 points against Federer out of a total of 553 points and has won 40 games out of 100. On the other hand, Federer has won 306 points and has won 60 games out of 100. Lastly, Federer has won 4 of the 5 matches played against Nadal.
Grand Slams
| Rafael Nadal | Serve | Roger Federer |
|---|---|---|
| 55 / 1862 | Ace % | 162 / 1788 |
| 233 / 279 | Service Games Won % | 208 / 279 |
| 71 / 279 | Return Games Won % | 46 / 279 |
| Total | ||
| 1879 / 3650 | Total Points Won % | 1771 / 3650 |
| 303 / 557 | Games Won % | 254 / 557 |
| 36 / 57 | Sets Won % | 21 / 57 |
| 10 / 14 | Matches Won % | 4 / 14 |
Then, we have the Grand Slams, in which Federer has got 162 ace services out of 1788 against Rafael Nadal. Whereas, Nadal has got only 55 aces out of 1862 services. However, Nadal has won 233 games out of 279 on his service against Roger. Whereas, Federer has won 208 games on his service. Additionally, Nadal has won 71 return games whereas Federer has won just 46. Furthermore, Nadal has won 1879 points against Federer out of a total of 3650 points. Also, he has won 303 games out of 557. On the other hand, Federer has won 1771 points and has won 254 games out of 557. Lastly, Federer has won just 4 of the 14 matches played against Nadal. Whereas, Nadal has won 10 matches.
Masters
| Rafael Nadal | Serve | Roger Federer |
|---|---|---|
| 35 / 1543 | Ace % | 109 / 1615 |
| 193 / 244 | Service Games Won % | 182 / 242 |
| 60 / 242 | Return Games Won % | 51 / 244 |
| Total | ||
| 1607 / 3158 | Total Points Won % | 1551 / 3158 |
| 253 / 486 | Games Won % | 233 / 486 |
| 29 / 50 | Sets Won % | 21 / 50 |
| 12 / 19 | Matches Won % | 7 / 19 |
Next, we have the Masters, in this tournament, Nadal has got 35 ace services out of 1543 against Federer. Whereas, Federer has got 109 aces out of 1615. However, Nadal has won 193 games on his service out of 244 against Roger. Whereas, Federer has won 182 games on his service out of 242. Additionally, Nadal has won 60 return games whereas Federer has won 51. Furthermore, Nadal has won 1607 points against Federer out of a total of 3158 points and has won 253 games out of 486 games against Roger Federer. On the other hand, Roger Federer has won 1551 points out of 3158 and has won 233 games out of 486. Lastly, Rafael Nadal has won 12 of the 19 matches played against Federer. Whereas Federer has won only 7.
Overall Head To Head Stats
| Rafael Nadal | Serve | Roger Federer |
|---|---|---|
| 96 / 3857 | Ace % | 329 / 3833 |
| 483 / 600 | Service Games Won % | 461 / 602 |
| 141 / 602 | Return Games Won % | 117 / 600 |
| Total | ||
| 3889 / 7690 | Total Points Won % | 3801 / 7690 |
| 623 / 1201 | Games Won % | 578 / 1201 |
| 71 / 124 | Sets Won % | 53 / 124 |
| 24 / 40 | Matches Won % | 16 / 40 |
Lastly, overall, Federer has got 329 ace services out of 3833 against Rafael Nadal. Whereas, Nadal has got only 96 aces out of 3857 services. However, Nadal has won 483 games out of 600 on his service against Roger. Whereas, Federer has won 461 games out of 602 on his service. Additionally, Nadal has won 141 return games whereas Federer has won just 117. Furthermore, Nadal has won 3889 points against Federer out of a total of 7690 points. Also, he has won 623 games out of 1201. On the other hand, Federer has won 3801 points and has won only 578 games out of 1201. Lastly, Federer has won just 16 of the 40 matches played against Nadal. Whereas, Nadal has won 24 matches.
Roger Federer Vs Rafael Nadal Records Till Date
- Only male players in tennis history to win 17 slam titles each (Federer – 20; Nadal – 20)
- Only two male players in tennis history to succeed in over 27 sweep singles finals each (Federer – 31 Nadal – 28)
- Most slam finals played against one another in tennis history (shared with Djokovic–Nadal) – 9 (2009 and 2017 Australian Open, 2006–2008 and 2011 French Open and 2006–2008 Wimbledon)
- Most French Open finals played against one another in tennis history – 4 (2006–2008 and 2011)
- Only two players in tennis history to own met in both French Open and Wimbledon finals within the same season for 3 consecutive years (2006–2008)
- Rafael Nadal is the all-time record holder for many finals reached at French Open (13) while Federer holds the record at Wimbledon (12)
- Federer won the best number of matches at both the Australian Open (102) and Wimbledon (101), while Nadal at French Open (99) in tennis history
- Federer won the best number of matches in slam tournaments on hard (191), while Nadal on clay (100) – both all-time records
- Only two players in tennis history to achieve over 4 sweep finals without losing one set in the tournament – 8 times for Nadal, 6 times for Federer.
- Nadal is that the only player in tennis history to win a minimum of 1 slam title a season for 10 consecutive years (2005–2014), while Federer is that the only player in tennis history to win 3 slam titles a season for two consecutive years (2006–2007) and also the only to win 2 sweep titles a season for 4 consecutive years (2004–2007).
- First pair in tennis history to win the two first major tournaments of the season 6 times between them (2006–2007, 2009–2010, and 2017–2018)
Furthermore, click here to see the complete list of records of Federer and Nadal.
Editor’s Note
In conclusion, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are truly Legends of the sport in every sense. They have not only been great on their preferred type of courts but also have been dominating all formats and courts of the game. Furthermore, both of them have had numerous records to their name which makes it really hard to choose between the two. However, if we look at the statistics, then Rafael Nadal has more share of the victories against Roger Federer. Still, Federer isn’t too far behind. Additionally, despite the rivalry on court, the pair have the utmost respect for each other on as well as off the court. Furthermore, both the athletes are in extremely good form. So, there’s still a couple more years left in this amazing career-long rivalry between the two.
Additionally, click here to read an article on Lionel Messi VS Cristiano Ronaldo statistics.
FAQs Regarding Federer Vs Nadal
Roger Federer won his first Wimbledon during the year 1998, this was one of the achievements that came to him in his early days as a tennis player
Rafael Nadal also knows as the King of Clay won against Grand Slam Winner Pat Cash in the year 2001. Furthermore, this was one of the major achievements in his early playing days.
Swiss Roger Federer and Spaniard (King of Clay) Rafael Nadal have won 20 singles slams titles till date and are the only two players to do so.
Rafael Nadal has won 24 head to head matches against Roger Federer till date out of a total of 40 matches played between the two.
