"Best ever" - Stan Wawrinka revisits Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's iconic 'Battle of the Surfaces' exhibition

Stan Wawrinka recently called the Iconic 'Battle of the Surfaces' exhibition played between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the best exhibition match ever.

On May 2, 2007, the top two ranked players in the world Federer and Nadal faced each other in an exhibition match in the Palma Arena in Mallorca, which is the Spaniard's hometown. It was played on a unique court with a clay surface on one side and a grass surface on the other and cost $1.63 million and 19 days to prepare.

The Swiss was the World No. 1 and was on a 48-match winning streak on grass whereas the Spaniard was the World No. 2 and was on a 72-match winning streak on clay and the match was played to determine who would prevail on a mixed surface.

The 22-time Major champion ended up winning the topsy-turvy match in a hard-fought three-setter 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(10). After the match, the Spaniard said the match was a nice experience despite his thinking that it would be difficult to adapt to the court.

"It has been a nice experience, although before the match I thought it would be a disaster because I felt it would be very difficult for me to adapt to the court." (via BBC)

Stan Wawrinka took to Instagram to share a post on his story which chronicled the Battle of the Surfaces and called it the best exhibition ever played. He also set up a poll asking the fans whether they agreed with him or not.

Stan Wawrinka's Instagram Story

How Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ended each other's respective winning streaks

The duo at the 2022 Laver Cup

A few weeks after their epic exhibition match, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal faced off against each other in the finals of the 2007 Hamburg Masters. The Spaniard was on an 81-match winning streak on clay courts which is the longest ever winning streak on a single surface.

Nadal started the match in a dominant fashion claiming the first set. However, an inspired performance from the Swiss helped him come back from a set down to end the Spaniard's winning streak on clay 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, and win the title.

The Spaniard had his revenge a year later in 2008 when he defeated Federer in the infamous 2008 Wimbledon finals. Nadal would end The 8-time Wimbledon champion's 65-match winning streak on grass 6-4, 6-4, (5)6-7, (8)6-7, 9-7 to win his maiden Wimbledon title.