Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal – The Greatest Rivalry?

When we think about tennis, even if you are a complete newbie, you definitely knows something about two of the most charismatic tennis icons Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. They continue an old tennis tradition of intense rivalries that streches over the years, Federer being the favorite on hard surfaces and Nadal on clay.

Well served aces, powerful backhands, precise movement and a Swiss watch tempo. This could be a short description of the tennis machine called Roger Federer also known as Fed Express or Maestro. He held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks wining an amazing 16 Grand Slam titles and played in 23 finals, also holding the record of reaching ten consecutive Grand Slam finals. In 2008 he won the Olympic Gold Medal in doubles after some amazing games. After his amazing results in tennis he was voted as the Sportsman of the year on four consecutive years from 2005 to 2008. He is curently ranked as World No. 4.

Federer’s rival, Rafael Nadal, is currently ranked as No.2 after relinquishing his No 1 position in 2011 to Novak Djokovic. As his fans like to call him “The King of Clay” many experts feel that he could be the greatest clay court player of all time. He has won 10 Grand Slams so far, an Olimpic Gold Medal and 3 Davis Cup title with Spanish team. He played against Federer in 19 tournament finals and won 13 of them.

As many consider their rivalry to be the greatest in tennis history, it is a privilage for the viewer to see their clashes in which grandeour and gods are divided by a net and their victories are decided by a rubbery green ball.

Djokovic’s Run in Wimbledon Leads to No. 1

The top two players of the world never met each other in the Wimbledon men’s final from 1983 to 2003.

It is about to happen for the seventh time in eight years with a couple of twists.

Thanks to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, No. 1 vs. No.2 Grand Slam Finals turned out to be something of a normal incidence in the recent years.  Nowadays, No. 1 Nadal will be engaged in so far one more 1-2 Wimbledon championship matchup, only it will be against No. 2 Novac Djokovic, and they will change spots in the ATP rankings a day later.

Djokvic will go up to No. 1 and Nadal will go down to No. 2, in spite of the result.

Nadal said, “One guy played unbelievable the first half of the year, so he’s the new No. 1.  We just can congratulate him, because what he did this first part of the season is something really impressive, really fantastic.”

Djokovic is 47-1 in 2011, counting in a 4-0 list against Nadal.

Djokovic said, who is 11-16 against Nadal in general, including 0.5 in Grand Slam tournaments, “The four times I won against him this year can probably help me in some ways mentally prior to this match.”

Serb won the first seven tournaments he joined in this season, prior to his 43-match winning streak, dating to the David Cup final in December, finished with a loss to Federer in the French Open semifinals.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga said after losing to Djokovic in Friday’s semifinals, “He’s the best player in the world @the moment.”

That success moved Djokovic into his first final at Wimbledon, and fifth at a Grand Slam tournament.  He is 2-2 up to now, succeeding the Australian Open twice, and losing in two U.S. Open finals – to Federer in 2007 and to Nadal in the previous year.