Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: The Two Greatest Legends of Tennis

John Kammerman
Sep 7, 2018 · 2 min read

Any tennis enthusiast is automatically familiar with the names of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. They are arguably the two greatest players of all time and have formed both a rivalry and a friendship with each other over the years.

Roger Federer has been playing professional tennis since 1998 and has become the face and ambassador of the sport. He started to break through in 2003 when he won Wimbledon and shortly thereafter started to dominate the tour, winning three grand slam titles and becoming world number one in 2004. His dominance continued and even today, Federer is still playing with pace to keep up with the other top players on the tour.

Rafael Nadal started his professional in 2001 at age 15. He quickly climbed the rankings and in 2005 started to really compete with the big stars, even beating Roger Federer for the first time. Nadal eventually rose to world number one in 2008 when he beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon, and has stayed at or near the top over the years despite a few injuries.

Federer and Nadal have kept an intense rivalry. They have played each other 38 times, with Nadal winning 23 of those times and Federer 15. The tennis world always wants to see another Federer-Nadal matchup. Despite this rivalry, the two are great friends and great examples of sportsmanship in the sports world.

Whether one is a fan of Federer or Nadal, all can and should acknowledge and respect the grandeur of these two tennis legends and what they have done for the sport.