Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer: Their Rivalry, A "Carrollian" Epitaph

The last match that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played against each other in a Grand Slam (GS) tournament was in the finals of the Australian Open, 2009.

Today, Nadal is the current holder of three GS titles. For the first time since 2003, Federer is not the current holder of any and it looks like it is time to write "finis" to the story of their rivalry.

This rivalry is valued by Rafa fans, as the Rafael Nadal story starts with him facing the seemingly-invincible Roger Federer.

It has been described as the most famous rivalry in tennis—possibly even the most famous in sports. When they first met in a match, Federer was 22 and Nadal just 17.

The rivalry was skewed in favor of the younger player from day one, building up to a 6-1 edge after about two years and 14-8 after six years.

Nadal's supremacy in the Grand Slams was initially confined to clay, seemingly a sideshow on the larger stage dominated by Federer. But gradually, it extended to all the surfaces. 

Some of the unusual aspects regarding the evolution of Rafael Nadal into a formidable rival on all surfaces have put me in mind of Lewis Carroll's "The Mad Gardener's Song." He thinks he sees something, but looks again, and finds it is something else.

This is so much like how we keep thinking this is Nadal, only to find a different Nadal who is constantly evolving into something else. 

Lewis Carroll himself also defies categorization, and his writings can be understood at different levels. He is famous for his "Alice" books and nonsense poems.

Supposedly a writer of stories for children, he was actually a mathematician. His stories  are fantasies for kids at one level and masterly exercises in logic and discussions of complex concepts at another level.

Scientists, philosophers and psychologists are still finding new meanings in his stories and poems, which not only discuss or describe some complex concepts known in his time, but also seem to foretell concepts discovered in the future.  

It seemed appropriate for me, therefore, to use "The Mad Gardener's Song" as an inspiration to tell the story of the rivalry, which involves the evolution of Rafael Nadal from a mere footnote to Federer's story to a legend in his own right.

The Story of the Rivalry: Seen Through the Eyes of Roger Federer (with apologies to Lewis Carroll)

He thought he saw a Player,
    That practised on the clay:
He looked again, and found it was
    Nemesis come to play.
"At length I realise," he said,
    "The bitterness of this day!"

He thought he saw a Dirt-rat,
    That flopped on the grass:
He looked again, and found it was
    His worst fears come to pass.
"Unless you leave this place," he said,
    "I'll report you for your sass!"

He thought he saw a Dirt-baller,
    That bounced on Plexicushion:
He looked again, and found it was
    The Player's coronation.
"The one thing I regret," he said,
    "Is that I am badly out of fashion!"

He thought he saw a Claycourter,
    That faded in the Meadows:
He looked again, and found it was
    A Cup full of his woes.
"Were I to swallow this," he said,
    "I should lose my airy nose!"

He thought he saw a Argument,
    That proved he was the GOAT:
He looked again, and found it was
    An old discarded note.
"A fact so dread," he faintly said,
    "Cannot keep my hope afloat!"