5 instances when Roger Federer decimated Rafael Nadal

Tennis has given us a lot of champions since it started. There have been a lot of rivalries in the sport. Borg-Mcenroe was a prime example of such a rivalry in the 80’s and Sampras-Agassi produced similar tennis in the mid 90’s and early 2000’s. Then came the likes of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic who have been dominating the sport for the last 15 years and have broken many records in the journey.

This generation was privileged enough to have witnessed one of the greatest rivalries in the sport, if not the greatest between Federer and Nadal which we fans call it ‘Fedal’. They first met at the Miami Masters in 2004 where the Spaniard got the better off the then World No.1 and surprised everyone. From then on, they have been involved in 38 matches with Nadal winning 23(Hard-9, Clay-13, Grass-1) to Federer’s 15(Hard-11, Clay-2, Grass-1) victories across surfaces.

We have witnessed the best tennis ever played, thanks to them. There have been matches where both of them had an equal chance to win, say 2008 Wimbledon final or 2017 Australian Open. Along with this, there have been many one-sided matches as well. Federer is on a 5-match winning streak since winning in the finals of Basel in 2015. Let's take a look at 5 matches where Federer was too much to handle for Nadal:

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#5. Miami 2017:

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It started at the same place 13 years ago and not much has changed except that this time Federer defeated Nadal in the final to clinch his 3rd title. He got the better of his foe 6-3,6-4 without breaking too much sweat closing the H2H to 14-23.

This also marked Federer’s third Sunshine Double(winning Indian Wells and Miami)joining Djokovic in the elite list. This meant he had won 19 matches losing only 1 with three titles in the bag.

There have been several instances where Federer had no answers to Nadal’s game on clay as well as on hard courts. That calls for another article. For now, let us sit back and enjoy this rivalry that has taken the sport to another dimension.

#4. 2006 Wimbledon

The 8th grand slam victory must have been very sweet and different from the other seven, as Federer had to avenge the defeat that occurred a month ago in Paris where the 20-year-old Spaniard put up a brilliant display.

But the love story between Federer and SW19 was destined to continue and this time Federer was brilliant from the first point and was immediately 2 sets up against his rival. Even though Nadal managed to take a set off the champion, he was perfectly poised to lift the trophy. He won the final set 6 games to 3 winning Wimbledon for the 4th time in a row.

#3. World Tour finals 2011

Federer has a unique record of bageling(6-0) Nadal on all surfaces which no other player has ever done. The 2011 World Tour Finals Round Robin witnessed one such event when Nadal could win only 3 games in the two sets played in which he couldn’t win a single game in the second set.

Federer proved to be a fierce force in outdoor courts once again. It took an hour for Roger to close the game and book a place in the semis. He was the champion at the O2 arena that year winning his 6th World Tour Finals title.

#2. Shanghai Masters 2017

Five times in a row! Yes, Roger won for the 5th time in a row against Rafa, something he had never achieved before. His dream season of 2017 continued by winning Shanghai Masters in straight sets taking just 72 minutes. He barely put a foot wrong in the match and began to dominate the rallies right from the start, both on the baseline as well as at the net leading to his 27th title at the Masters 1000 level. The scoreline read 6-4,6-3 at the end.

#1. Indian Wells 2017

Federer was at his best that day. His backhands were firing all round the court and Nadal had no answers to it. This was a round of 16 matches and everyone expected it to be a very tough match but Federer was in GOD mode.

He finished the business in 68 minutes losing just 5 games in a best of 3 matches. The dominance was so much that the scoreline did little justice. The old tactic of Nadal going to Federer’s Backhand backfired big time in this match as the Swiss Maestro blasted winners past the Spaniard using the same wing. Federer went onto win the Indian Wells later.