Federer vs. Nadal: Not One, but Two Rivalries

A lot of people talk about Federer and Nadal as having one of the greatest rivalries the sport has ever seen.

A lot of people point to the dismal 6-12 record on Roger Federer's side as the reason why he shouldn't be anointed as the greatest.

Looking at their rivalry a little closer, we can see that they actually hold two different rivalries.

On the kingdom of clay, Nadal is playing in his own world. Nobody has ever seen such dominance. It is as if he is genetically engineered for clay. As of 05/05/08, Nadal had won 102 of 103 matches on clay since early 2005.

This is utter dominance; his sole loss was to Federer at Hamburg. Federer stubbornly reaches the finals of all these clay tournaments, only to face the tennis looping machine known as Rafa Nadal.

On other surfaces, Federer is 5-3 against Nadal, including 2-1 in Grand Slam Finals. This argument has been put forth before, but if Nadal had been more consistent on hard courts and Federer been crappier on clay courts, the head to head would be much more even. Put it this way, on clay courts, there is no rivalry. Nadal dominates through and through.

Federer, despite his baseline game, has the mental position of being a serve-volleyer. He relies on the angles created with his loopy shots to nail the opponent. This just isn't achievable on clay from the back of the court against Nadal.

Nadal on the other hand, is the classic counter-puncher who will struggle on a faster court against someone truly aggressive. This was demonstrated at his Grand Slam losses to both Tsonga and Murray. It is a pity that Nadal hasn't met Federer in more surfaces other than clay. That is definitely the more thrilling rivalry.

All in all, when looking at the great rivalry between these two Champions, it is important to distinguish the two. Clay tennis is a different game; even Federer acknowledges that. Nadal has consistently alluded to Federer as being the greatest ever, and I don't think that is just an attempt at humility.

He understands that Federer has been handicapped on clay; that the rivalry could never be a true one due to the distinguished greatness of the two players.

Let's all hold our breath for the next match in: The Rivalry of Federer-Nadal on courts other than clay.