Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal’s 10 most memorable matches
Our take a look at the Spaniard’s most enduring matches
November 18, 2024
Getty Pictures
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal embrace following their Wimbledon traditional in 2008.
By Sam Jacot
To have a good time the tip of Rafael Nadal‘s historic profession at this week’s Davis Cup Remaining 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a collection of articles paying tribute to the Spaniard.
Rafael Nadal lit up courts around the globe throughout his 21-year profession, with the Spaniard one of many prime opponents within the historical past of the sport.
The 37-year-old relished a battle and so usually got here out on prime resulting from his unparalleled preventing spirit, relentless dedication and unwavering dedication to each level. As he prepares for his last tour-level occasion, the 2024 Davis Cup Remaining 8, he has stepped onto courtroom 1,307 instances, popping out because the winner on 1,080 events.
ATPTour.com seems again at 10 of Nadal’s most memorable matches, that includes Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Guillermo Coria, Ivan Ljubicic, Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco and Daniil Medvedev.
2004 Davis Cup Remaining
Rafael Nadal d. Andy Roddick 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-2
In 2004, Rafael Nadal was a fresh-faced 18-year-old who had began to make early waves within the sport. The Spaniard had gained his maiden ATP Tour title on clay in Sopot in August earlier than incomes a standout victory in opposition to Roger Federer within the third spherical in Miami.
Nonetheless, his breakthrough second arguably got here in his last match of the season. Competing in entrance of 27,000 followers contained in the Olympic Stadium in Seville, Nadal confronted American Andy Roddick within the Davis Cup Remaining. Roddick was No. 2 within the PIF ATP Rankings on the time and had dispatched Nadal for the lack of simply seven video games on the US Open in September.
Within the leadup, Spanish captain Jordi Arrese was anticipated to pick out 2003 Roland Garros champion Juan Carlos Ferrero for the Roddick conflict, however controversially picked Nadal to play the rubber. After Nadal misplaced the primary set, it seemed like Arresse’s determination might backfire. That was till the Spaniard rolled off the second set, saved a set level within the third set to guide earlier than he flew by the fourth to earn a 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(6), 6-2 win.
As if he might see into the longer term, Roddick was stuffed with reward for Nadal following the match.
“I simply bumped into somebody who performed too effectively,” mentioned Roddick. “Each every now and then individuals come alongside they usually’re big-match gamers. I feel you both have it otherwise you don’t, no matter age.”
2005 Rome last
Rafael Nadal d. Guillermo Coria 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6)
In 2005, Guillermo Coria was the most effective clay-court gamers on the planet. The Argentine reached 5 ATP Masters 1000 finals on the floor throughout 2003 and 2004, successful in Hamburg and Monte-Carlo. Nadal and Coria entered the 2005 title match in Rome off the again of a last assembly in Monte-Carlo one month earlier, when the Spaniard defeated Coria in 4 units to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title.
Their assembly within the Italian capital was a lung-busting epic that encompassed Nadal’s recreation at that stage of his profession. The Spaniard was red-hot within the first and third units however, at 18 years previous, might go off the boil for prolonged durations. Nadal misplaced management of his forehand within the second set and was erratic for giant components of the fourth and fifth set, falling 0-3 behind within the decider.
Nonetheless, at 0-3, 0/30 the Spaniard struck a forehand winner and went on to carry serve. Taking part in with a renewed sense of depth, Nadal broke again and compelled a tie-break. From 5/1 forward, he briefly stumbled earlier than sealing victory on his third match level when Coria pushed a volley lengthy.
Nadal, who fell to his again after victory, described the ultimate as “one of many hardest matches” of his profession.
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Photograph Credit score: Ian Walton/Getty Pictures
2005 Madrid last
Rafael Nadal d. Ivan Ljubicic 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3)
Rafael Nadal completed his 2005 season on house soil in Madrid, having captured a staggering 10 tour-level titles earlier within the season. The then-19-year-old gained seven trophies on clay in 2005, together with his maiden main at Roland Garros, however was additionally beginning to show himself on onerous courts – the floor the Mutua Madrid Open was performed on from 2002-2008 – successful in Montreal and Beijing.
Getting into the ultimate in Madrid, Nadal was dealing with a red-hot Ivan Ljubicic, who had gained his previous two tournaments in Metz and Vienna, respectively. At a time when ATP Masters 1000 finals have been best-of-five units, Ljubicic struck 32 aces to race right into a two-set benefit, together with his massive serve and sharp groundstrokes efficient indoors.
Nadal refused to fade, preventing again to degree the match earlier than he recovered from a break down within the fifth set to finally triumph within the tie-break when Ljubicic netted a forehand. It was the primary time the Spaniard had gained from two units to like down, encompassing the preventing spirit followers turned accustomed to seeing throughout his 21-year profession.
“It was an unforgettable recreation, very thrilling, the place I keep in mind that the general public was unbelievable,” Nadal mentioned forward of the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open. “The sport value me a number of months of [my] sports activities profession. I broke my foot however it was value it. It was definitely worth the emotion I skilled, that made it unattainable to neglect. The subsequent day I awakened lame, I couldn’t even stroll.”
2006 Rome last
Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5)
After simmering for 2 years, the rivalry between Nadal and Federer hit boiling level throughout a five-hour last on the Foro Italico in Rome. Nadal had gained 4 of their first 5 conferences to that time, and all three on clay, however many nonetheless felt that it was only a matter of time earlier than the World No. 1 Federer figured {the teenager} out, the best way he had figured everybody else out over the earlier two years.
For a lot of this five-hour match, it seemed as if Federer had lastly discovered a method to beat the world’s greatest dirt-baller. But he nonetheless misplaced.
The Swiss got here to the web 84 instances within the conflict and gained 64 of these factors. Federer managed the rallies together with his forehand as usually as he might. He despatched Nadal into the sideline partitions together with his angles. He gained the primary set by taking part in an ideal 7/0 tie-break. He led 4-2 within the second set. He dominated the fourth set 6-2. Within the fifth set, he led 4-1 and had two match factors. Within the deciding tiebreaker, he led 5/3. After which, in spite of everything of that, he made three errors and let Nadal run away with the final 4 factors and the title.
It was Nadal’s sixteenth title as a young person, tying him with Bjorn Borg for the report, whereas it was his 53rd straight win on clay, levelling Guillermo Vilas’ all-time males’s report.
2008 Wimbledon last
Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7
Federer had crushed Nadal in two earlier Wimbledon finals, however the Spaniard had progressively tailored to the floor, shifting nearer to the baseline, punching up his serve and taking better dangers together with his groundstrokes. He gained the primary two units, however Federer got here again to take consecutive tie-breaks and degree the match. The drama, already suffocating, was exacerbated by three rain delays, a quaint reminder that there was life earlier than the roof got here to Centre Court docket.
Nadal broke Federer’s serve at 7-7 within the fifth set when a forehand sailed lengthy. Then down 0/15 at 8-7, Nadal selected to serve and volley for the primary time within the match. Two successful volleys and a framed Federer backhand introduced a 3rd match level, which Federer erased with a fearless backhand return. Nadal, who transformed on his fourth match level when Federer’s forehand discovered the web, completed the match with tears in his eyes.
The match, which led to near-darkness at 9:15 p.m., required 4 hours, 48 minutes — Wimbledon’s longest last on report, going again to 1877. The triumph marked Nadal’s first title on the grass-court main and ended Federer’s five-year title streak on the All England Membership. Nadal’s victory in opposition to Federer is extensively thought-about the best match of all time.
Photograph Credit score: AFP/Getty Pictures
2009 Australian Open semi-final
Rafael Nadal d. Fernando Verdasco 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4
When Rafael Nadal dropped to his knees on Friday twenty ninth January 2009, the emotional toll of his battle in opposition to Fernando Verdasco was evident throughout his face. The Spaniard had simply moved previous his countryman 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4 after 5 hours and 14 minutes within the longest match in Australian Open historical past on the time.
With the world’s namesake, Rod Laver — a fairly good lefty in his personal proper — within the crowd and Spanish flags scattered round, Nadal discovered his famend protection examined to the restrict as Verdasco ripped 95 winners within the semi-final conflict. However whereas he bent, he by no means broke, committing fewer than 10 unforced errors in each demanding set, together with simply 4 within the fifth.
“Right now was a kind of matches you are going to keep in mind a very long time,” Nadal mentioned. “Within the final recreation, at 0-40, I began to cry. It was an excessive amount of pressure. Fernando was taking part in, I feel, at his greatest degree. He deserved this last, too.”
Along with his win, Nadal reached the ultimate and would go on to defeat Roger Federer in one other five-set epic within the title match to win the Australian Open for the primary time.
2009 Madrid semi-final
Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9)
The inescapable solar, the pink clay, the excessive altitude, the Madrid setting. The lengthy, pitched battle, stuffed with forays and feints, between two opponents. The life-and-death last tie-break. Nadal and Djokovic’s conflict on the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open had all of it.
That European spring, Nadal had reached an early profession pinnacle. Through the earlier 12 months, he had demolished Federer within the Roland Garros last, after which clawed previous him in 5 units within the Wimbledon last and the Australian Open last. No. 1 within the PIF ATP Rankings, he gained Indian Wells and was extra dominant than ever on clay, successful in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome. (In 2009, Madrid was performed after Rome, and per week earlier than Roland Garros; the following yr Rome and Madrid flipped on the schedule.)
Assembly within the semi-finals, the Serbian was quick out of the blocks as he sought his first clay-court win in opposition to the Spaniard. After successful the primary set, Djokovic failed to shut, with Nadal utilizing the power of the gang to degree earlier than he rallied from 1-3 within the decider. The Spaniard began to let free with the forehand, with the match changing into one gruelling rally after one other.
Nadal discovered the corners with topspin forehands and Djokovic countered with flat backhand missiles of his personal. Nadal saved three match factors in whole within the tie-break, two with haymaker forehand winners and one from a backhand error from Djokovic. He finally sealed victory after 4 hours and two minutes.
2012 Australian Open last
Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5
At 5 hours and 53 minutes, Djokovic’s 2012 Australian Open last victory in opposition to Nadal is the longest main title match in historical past. They have been the highest two seeds that yr and had met within the earlier two Slam finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open. Djokovic gained each of these in 4 units and got here into this match having gained seven straight in opposition to Nadal, relationship again to 2010.
The Spaniard was decided to finish that run on one of many sport’s largest levels and confirmed large battle, rallying from 3/5 within the fourth-set tie-break to pressure a decider. Nadal then led 4-2 within the fifth set and was 30/15 up on serve when Djokovic popped up a forehand volley, giving Nadal a wide-open courtroom for a brief backhand go. The Spaniard someway pushed it an inch broad and from there Djokovic broke and gained 4 of the following 5 video games to win the title.
Earlier than this last, Nadal held a 133-1 report in main matches after successful the primary set, however he couldn’t drag his physique over the road on a muggy Melbourne night time in Melbourne in opposition to Djokovic, who moved to 5 main titles.
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Photograph Credit score: PAUL CROCK/AFP through Getty Pictures
2013 Roland Garros semi-final
Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7
A sizzling day at Roland Garros was the setting for an additional Nadal-Djokovic blockbuster that was a mirror picture of their epic Australian Open last the yr earlier than. That see-saw saga in Melbourne lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes, and went to Djokovic, 7-5 within the fifth set. This reprise in Paris lasted 4 hours and 37 minutes and went to Nadal, 9-7 within the fifth set. Every match featured cruel rallies, effective shot-making, peaks and valleys from each gamers, and one match-changing error.
After grabbing the fourth-set tie-break, Djokovic led 4-2 within the decider and at 4-3, he touched the web after hitting what would have been a successful overhead at deuce. Nadal went onto break after which refused to lose, monitoring down each ball on the Parisian clay to earn his hardest victory at Roland Garros.
“You must love the sport,” Nadal mentioned after successful the exhilarating encounter.
Nadal went on to beat David Ferrer in straight units within the last to win his eighth title in Paris, whereas Djokovic’s look ahead to a primary Roland Garros crown went on.
2022 Australian Open last
Rafael Nadal d. Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
Nadal’s never-say-die angle has outlined his historic profession and his five-set victory in opposition to Daniil Medvedev within the 2022 Australian Open last optimises that.
The Spaniard did win the AO title in 2009 however had acquired his fair proportion of Melbourne heartbreak all through his profession, shedding finals in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019. For 90 minutes, it seemed as if Medvedev was going so as to add to his ache. The 2021 US Open champ led by two-sets-to-love and seemed set to place the ultimate nails within the Nadal coffin when the Spaniard hit two unforced errors on serve to path 2-3, 0/40.
Nonetheless, Nadal didn’t fade as he had completed in earlier Aussie Open finals. A sloppy Medvedev drop shot on his last break level at 2-3 gave Nadal a lifeline, with the Spaniard occurring to carry earlier than he gained the set. Nadal saved his roll going within the fourth set, after which, after a number of extra shifts in momentum, he discovered himself serving for the title at 5-4 within the fifth. He was unable to shut out on the first time of asking however recomposed to shortly reel off two consecutive video games, shifting to 21 main titles and taking the lead within the Grand Slam race on the time.
“It was the day to provide every little thing,” Nadal mentioned. “I loved the battle. I loved the feelings. On the finish have this trophy with me means every little thing at this time.”
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Photograph Credit score: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Pictures