Rafael Nadal’s 10 most memorable matches | ATP Tour

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal’s 10 most memorable matches

Our take a look at the Spaniard’s most enduring matches

November 18, 2024

To have a good time the top of Rafael Nadal’s historic profession at this week’s Davis Cup Remaining 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a sequence of articles paying tribute to the Spaniard.

Rafael Nadal lit up courts world wide 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 because of his unparalleled combating spirit, relentless willpower and unwavering dedication to each level. As he prepares for his closing tour-level occasion, the 2024 Davis Cup Remaining 8, he has stepped onto court docket 1,307 instances, popping out because the winner on 1,080 events.

ATPTour.com appears 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 FinalRafael 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 towards Roger Federer within the third spherical in Miami.

Nonetheless, his breakthrough second arguably got here in his closing 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 appeared 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 means of 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 nicely,” stated Roddick. “Each on occasion folks come alongside they usually’re big-match gamers. I feel you both have it otherwise you don’t, no matter age.”

2005 Rome finalRafael Nadal d. Guillermo Coria 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6)

In 2005, Guillermo Coria was among the best clay-court gamers on the earth. 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 closing 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 sport 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.

Rafael Nadal” model=”width:100%;”>Picture Credit score: Ian Walton/Getty Pictures

2005 Madrid finalRafael Nadal d. Ivan Ljubicic 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3)

Rafael Nadal completed his 2005 season on dwelling 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 arduous courts – the floor the Mutua Madrid Open was performed on from 2002-2008 – successful in Montreal and Beijing.

Coming 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, combating again to stage 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 combating spirit followers grew to become accustomed to seeing throughout his 21-year profession.

“It was an unforgettable sport, very thrilling, the place I keep in mind that the general public was unimaginable,” Nadal stated forward of the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open. “The sport value me a couple of months of [my] sports activities profession. I broke my foot nevertheless it was price it. It was well worth the emotion I skilled, that made it inconceivable to overlook. The subsequent day I awakened lame, I couldn’t even stroll.”

2006 Rome finalRafael 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 closing 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 appeared as if Federer had lastly discovered a technique to beat the world’s finest dirt-baller. But he nonetheless misplaced.

The Swiss got here to the online 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 enjoying 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 teen, tying him with Bjorn Borg for the document, whereas it was his 53rd straight win on clay, levelling Guillermo Vilas’ all-time males’s document.

2008 Wimbledon finalRafael 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 stage 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 Courtroom.

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 online, completed the match with tears in his eyes.

The match, which resulted in near-darkness at 9:15 p.m., required 4 hours, 48 minutes — Wimbledon’s longest closing on document, 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 towards Federer is extensively thought-about the best match of all time.

Picture Credit score: AFP/Getty Pictures

2009 Australian Open semi-finalRafael 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 towards 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 sector’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.

“At present was a type of matches you are going to bear in mind a very long time,” Nadal stated. “Within the final sport, at 0-40, I began to cry. It was an excessive amount of rigidity. Fernando was enjoying, I feel, at his finest stage. He deserved this closing, 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-finalRafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9)

The inescapable solar, the crimson clay, the excessive altitude, the Madrid setting. The lengthy, pitched battle, stuffed with forays and feints, between two opponents. The life-and-death closing 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 closing, after which clawed previous him in 5 units within the Wimbledon closing and the Australian Open closing. 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 subsequent 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 towards the Spaniard. After successful the primary set, Djokovic failed to shut, with Nadal utilizing the vitality of the group to stage earlier than he rallied from 1-3 within the decider. The Spaniard began to let unfastened with the forehand, with the match turning 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 finalNovak 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 closing victory towards 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 towards Nadal, relationship again to 2010.

The Spaniard was decided to finish that run on one of many sport’s greatest 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 court docket for a brief backhand go. The Spaniard one way or the other pushed it an inch vast and from there Djokovic broke and gained 4 of the subsequent 5 video games to win the title.

Earlier than this closing, Nadal held a 133-1 document in main matches after successful the primary set, however he couldn’t drag his physique over the road on a muggy Melbourne evening in Melbourne towards Djokovic, who moved to 5 main titles.

Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal, Australian Open 2012″ model=”width: 100%;”>Picture Credit score: PAUL CROCK/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

2013 Roland Garros semi-finalRafael 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 closing 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, high quality 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 online 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 should love the sport,” Nadal stated after successful the exhilarating encounter.

Nadal went on to beat David Ferrer in straight units within the closing to win his eighth title in Paris, whereas Djokovic’s look forward to a primary Roland Garros crown went on.

2022 Australian Open finalRafael Nadal d. Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5

Nadal’s never-say-die perspective has outlined his historic profession and his five-set victory towards Daniil Medvedev within the 2022 Australian Open closing optimises that.

The Spaniard did win the AO title in 2009 however had acquired his justifiable share of Melbourne heartbreak all through his profession, dropping finals in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019. For 90 minutes, it appeared as if Medvedev was going so as to add to his ache. The 2021 US Open champ led by two-sets-to-love and appeared 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 closing break level at 2-3 gave Nadal a lifeline, with the Spaniard occurring to carry earlier than he gained the set. Nadal stored his roll going within the fourth set, after which, after a couple 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 rapidly 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 stated. “I loved the battle. I loved the feelings. On the finish have this trophy with me means every little thing at the moment.”

Rafael Nadal” model=”width: 100%;”>Picture Credit score: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Pictures