Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Dubai Tennis Live, Dubai en direct!Monday, February 23, 2009
Leipheimer Wins Third Consecutve Tour of California
Levi Leipheimer won the tour of california for the third time!
Well done Levi - see you on Tour de France!!!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Watch ATP Dubai Championships Live Streaming
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2009
Please Note: Dubai is +4 hours GMT
CENTRE COURT start 2:00 pm
J Tipsarevic (SRB) vs [5] M Cilic (CRO)
I Ljubicic (CRO) vs [4] D Ferrer (ESP)
Not Before 7:00 PM
S Stakhovsky (UKR) vs [2] A Murray (GBR)
V Hanescu (ROU) vs F Santoro (FRA)
Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (ATP Dubai) Live
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Tsonga triumphs in Marseille
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed his second ATP title of the year by beating fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra 7-5 7-6 in the the Marseille Open final.
Fourth-seeded Tsonga, who won the South African Open two weeks ago, kept his cool under pressure from Llodra at the net to seal victory in one hour 43 minutes.
"He puts you under a lot of pressure," Tsonga said afterwards. "It's quite hard to stay focused and hit passing shots."
Tsonga, who now has four ATP titles under his belt, broke decisively in the 11th game to snatch the opening set with a stunning forehand passing shot.
The unseeded Llodra called on the ATP trainer to have his left shoulder massaged but he managed to go on.
The second set went with serve into the tie-break when Llodra crumbled, double-faulting to give his opponent a 4-3 lead.
Tsonga took the next two points before ending the match with his 11th ace.
"He was stronger, today," said Llodra.
"It was down to a few points, I did not serve well enough."
Robredo wins thriller in Buenos Airess
ATP Tour - Robredo wins Buenos Aires thriller
Eurosport - Sun, 22 Feb 21:46:00 2009
Spaniard Tommy Robredo downed local favourite Juan Monaco after a third-set tie-break to take the Buenos Aires Open title.
Robredo, seeded third, took the first set 7-5 but Monaco, who stunned favourite David Nalbandian in the semi -finals, broke twice in the second to set up a tantalising finale.
Despite Monaco's efforts, the 26-year-old Robredo - ranked 17th in the world - won the final-set tiebreaker 7-5 to claim his ninth career ATP title and his eighth on clay.
Friday, February 20, 2009
HELLO! MAGAZINE LOVES: RAFAEL NADAL, OBAMA, PITT & TENNIS PLAYERS
At last! Ever since the Australian Open finished all I’ve been waiting for is HELLO! magazine’s list of the top “Personalities” of 2008. This list was compiled by a group of editors from the magazine’s 13 international publications around the world, who serve 12 million readers in 100 countries. Between them, they were looking for the top 100 most ‘influential, inspirational and well known” international public figures.
It’s no shock that Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna and Prince Harry make up the top five, but tennis players make up a good chunk of the list, proving that our sport enjoys a strong international following. And some of the combinations are good for a laugh (as is the photo above, showing Rafa with at least 3 of HELLO! magazine’s top picks.)
Here’s how HELLO! ranks our tennis stars:
At # 11 Rafael Nadal is the highest ranked tennis player on the list and the second ranked sports star after
Moving down the list . . .
Ana Invanovic is #25 (tied with Oprah - not bad!)
Novak Djokovic is #26 (tied with Vivienne and Knox Jolie-Pitt)
Jelena Jankovic and Marcos Baghdatis are tied at #33 (along with actor counterparts Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig)
Roger Federer is the last tennis star on the list (BOO!) at #34 (tied with Celine Dion and Gisele Bundchen), but he shouldn’t feel too bad since BFF and fellow sports hero Tiger Woods ranks one above dead-last at #35 (tied with Michael J Fox, of course!)
Click here for the full list.
I’m really surprised Andy Murray didn’t make it - he was robbed! Maybe the judges can’t tell him from Prince William? I’d also have liked to see Serena and/or Venus Williams on the list, considering they were so good last year. Oh, and I’m sure Maria Sharapova is pissed to have been looked over. And what about Fernando Verdasco, Marat Safin and/or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga? All are much hotter than Brad Pitt in my humble opinion.
Oh well, there’s always next year!
Photo: Bru Garcia/AFP/Getty Images
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Watch live streaming R.M. Keegan Championships, Memphis ATP
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Hewitt,Roddick,Guccione,Fish,Del Potro,Gulbis,Stepanek,Blake.
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Watch Live tennis from Dubai WTA Championships
Serena Williams - Ana Ivanovic live stream Dubai (16.15 GMT)
Venus Williams - Elena Demienteva live stream from Dubai (15.00 GMT)
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Hewitt Ousts Blake in Memphis opener
Lleyton Hewitt recorded his 3rd victory of the year beating world numer 13 James Blake in the opening round in Memphis 3-6 6-1 6-4.
Hewitt said after the match : "It is tough to come back from surgery, not being seeded and getting all those tough first round matches," said Hewitt, who entered the week ranked No. 103. "Last week I lost in a close match to [Mardy] Fish who went on to the final and this week I face Blake. We saw some good tennis out there today. I knew it was going to be tough for the loser of this match."
Cooommmeee Ooooon Lleyton!
He will next face another Aussie the big serve guy Chris Guccione.
To watch live Regions Morgan Keegan Championships (ATP Memphis) click here!!!
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Roger takes a 4 week break too
As Rafael Nadal world number two Roger Federer will miss Switzerland's Davis Cup encounter against the United States in early March as well as next week's ATP event in Dubai as he recovers from a niggling back injury.
Federer said he had not had sufficient time to strengthen his back after hurting it last autumn and has therefore decided to skip the dates as a precautionary measure.
"I am disappointed to announce that I am withdrawing from both Dubai and the Davis Cup tie in the United States," Federer said.
"This was a hard decision to make as I am missing not only one of my favourite events on tour in Dubai, but also on an opportunity to help my country try and move on to the next round of the Davis Cup.
"After injuring my back last fall (autumn), I did not have enough time to strengthen it completely.
"As a precautionary measure, I will use the next few weeks to make sure the back injury is fully rehabilitated and I am ready for the rest of the 2009 season."
Federer will need to be in prime condition as he bids to wrest back the initiative from world number one Rafael Nadal, who reduced him to tears when he beat him in the Australian Open final last month.
The loss, his fifth on a roll to the Spaniard, ensured Federer must wait to equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slams.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Nadal have to make a break
World number one Rafael Nadal has said all he needs is some rest to recover from the knee problem that hampered his performance in the World Indoor Tournament final in Rotterdam.
Nadal lost 6-3 4-6 6-0 to Andy Murray on Sunday with his right knee causing him greater discomfort than the Briton's ankle complaint.
"It isn't the knee, it's lower down. It's a strain on a tendon that above all else stops me from serving well, but we are almost certain there won't be any problems," Nadal said.
The Spaniard is due to compete in Dubai next week and after that he has Spain's Davis Cup opener against Serbia in Benidorm starting on March 6.
"It won't be a problem for the Davis Cup," he added. "It's just a question of having a little rest. I also expect to be in Dubai but we shall see.
"The season has just started but I have already played a lot of games in a short space of time. It's a problem of muscular fatigue."
Watch Live tennis from Dubai WTA Championships
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Monday, February 16, 2009
Murray Wins, Nadal Injured
Briton Andy Murray upset world number one Rafael Nadal 6-3 4-6 6-0 in a disappointing World Indoor Tournament final in Rotterdam marred by injuries.
Murray was less troubled by his ankle problem than Nadal was by his right knee problem after he had a medical time-out three games into the second set.
Both players then dropped serve four times in a row, handing the set to Nadal who could not put any power into his service but refused to give up.
"Thought the first set was very good, I played well and saw nothing on Nadal's movement" Murray said.
"But after his time out he wasn't running anymore and just hitting the ball hard from the baseline."
"It was disappointing as it wasn't particular entertaining at the end."
Murray, the world number four, knew he needed to play his best tennis to beat Nadal, but neither player reached the high standard they achieved in earlier rounds.
"After the first set and Nadal's problem I really struggled with my service game and got a bit nervous," Murray said.
Murray became the first Briton to win the tournament in Rotterdam. Tim Henman lost three finals in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
Nadal refused to blame his injury for his second successive loss to Murray after last year's US Open semi-final.
"Murray just played better today," Nadal said. "I tried but couldn't give anything more in the third set."
"I don't think that this injury will be a serious problem, for sure it is not the same as last year."
"It was an option not to finish the match, but that is not a good way to finish a final, not for me not for Andy and not for the crowd."
Nadal said he did not sustain the injury during the final but that it had got worse during the week.
"I will have a week now before I play Dubai and don't expect a problem so after all I had a great week in a strong tournament, with a spot in the final after good matches against Bolelli and Tsonga," Nadal said.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Baghdatis to face a tough draw
After a quarter-final showing at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, Marcos now travels to the USA where he will play the SAP Open in San Jose, California.
Marcos is unseeded in the 32-man field and has been dealt a difficult draw, with sixth-seeded American Sam Querrey up first.
Should Marcos advance, he would face either Roko Karanusic or Denis Gremelmayr, with the possibility of third seed James Blake in the quarter-finals.
Also in the draw are top seed Andy Roddick, second seed Juan Martin del Potro, No. 4 seed Radek Stepanek, No. 5 Mardy Fish and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt.
www.baghdatis.com
At 37, Sampras is still the man to beat!
Still formidable in his way at age 37, Pete Sampras showed his share of game in a light and lively 76-minute exhibition match against Tommy Haas on evening one of the 2009 SAP Open.
With fans eager to see the 14-time Grand Slam in action, Sampras and Haas played a match filled with mutual respect, sparkling shotmaking and, yes, the easygoing atmosphere that makes these matches acutely less intense than the days when these two were locking horns around the world. Fair enough. Haas won the first set 7-6, Sampras the second 6-4 and then, in lieu of a third set, the two played a tiebreak that Haas won 12-10. It was a command performance of sorts for Haas, who had completed his first round match in the main event and stepped in for the exo after Sampras’ original opponent, James Blake, pulled out with an injury incurred earlier in his afternoon doubles match (Blake still plans to compete in the singles here).
But outcome meant little in this format. What was more engaging was to fitness the full retinue of Sampras’ strokes. As always, the headliner was his pinpoint serve. The finest delivery in tennis history, Sampras was still able to nab his share of corners in excess of 120 mph. Also on display were his familiar rapier running forehand and dozens of pinpoint volleys the likes of which are rarely seen in contemporary tennis.
“It’s a quick trip from my home in LA,” said Sampras right after the match. “To play a current guy is a challenge. It’s tough for me to move around. It’s fun, keeps me in shape. To be retired for six years and play decent tennis, it’s good for me. It still take a lot of pride in performing well.”
Though Sampras will play his share of exhibitions – including one next week in Memphis versus Lleyton Hewitt – most of his days are filled by spending time with his two children, playing poker, basketball and other forms of exercise. And with that, in the low-key manner that defined his career, the blue-jean clad Sampras slipped off into the night.
SAP Open Big Guns on Tuesday
followed by MARDY FISH vs. LLEYTON HEWITT
followed by THE BRYAN BROTHERS vs. RATIWATANA BROTHERS
Rafael Nadal new baby arrived!
Hope he'll ride it as well as he rides his racquet!
VAMOS RAFA!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Russian advance in Rotterdam
Russians Advance In Rotterdam
Russian Dmitry Tursunov recorded his first ATP World Tour win of the year at the season's first ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament, with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over French qualifier Arnaud Clement in 69 minutes at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Monday. Fellow Russians Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny also advanced on day one.
Tursunov hit eight aces and lost just 11 points in the first set against No. 81-ranked Clement, who hit seven double faults. This year 26-year-old Tursunov has made first round exits at Doha (l. to Peya), Sydney (l. to Gasquet), the Australian Open (l. to Cipolla) and Zagreb (l. to Gulbis). The World No. 30 will next meet either Johannesburg champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France or No. 177-ranked Jesse Huta Galung of the Netherlands.
Third seed Davydenko also breezed into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over countryman Igor Andreev. Davydenko was playing his first match since the first week of the season, when he withdrew from the Chennai Open with inflammation of the left heel prior to his second-round match.
"I have never really had long injury breaks or never had to take a long rest before, so it has been strange," Davydenko said. "I just want to come back and start to play well. From the end of last season I had almost two months without playing any tournaments so my confidence is very low. I hope I can play better. I played good today but it can always be better. The most important thing was to start with a win and I just want to carry on playing tournaments."
Former champion Mikhail Youzhny avoided a fourth first-round exit in five years Monday, after beating No. 189-ranked Laurent Recouderc of France 6-4, 6-4 in 84 minutes for a place in the second round. The former World No. 8, who captured one of his four ATP World Tour titles at Rotterdam in 2007 (d. Ljubicic), won 28 of 31 points on first serve and saved both break points he faced. He has a 2-3 record on the 2009 ATP World Tour season.
France's Julien Benneteau (pictured) handed Feliciano Lopez of Spain to a third successive first round defeat after the World No. 50 won 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to set up a second round meeting against a Russian, either third seed Nikolay Davydenko – competing at his first ATP World Tour tennis tournament since injuring his left heel in Chennai – or Igor Andreev. Benneteau finished the 2008 season with a runner-up finish at Lyon (l. to Lyon) and has a 2-3 record in 2009.
source : atptennis.com
Rafa in Rotterdam
Another crowd puller, Andy Murray, was also in action in the doubles. He and his partner, James Auckland, were defeated 6-3, 6-4 by the Austrian, Julian Knowle and the Israeli, Andy Ram.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tsonga wins his 3rd career title
Nadal vs Federer
Federer–Nadal rivalry
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are professional tennis players engaged in a storied rivalry that many consider to be among the greatest in tennis history.
They have held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour since July 2005 and are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked No. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008. Thus, Nadal is currently ranked No. 1 and Federer No. 2.
Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 13–6. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 15 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an Open era record seven Grand Slam finals.For three consecutive years, 2006–2008, they played in the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. They also met in the 2009 Australian Open final. Nadal won five of the seven, losing only the first two Wimbledons. Three of these Grand Slam finals were epic five setters (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[1][6][7][8][9] They have also played in a record seven Masters Series finals, including their epic five setter at the 2006 Rome Masters.
There are many other significant qualities to their rivalry:
- They have combined to win Grand Slam titles in an unprecedented fashion, capturing 15 of the last 16 (9 for Federer, 6 for Nadal) from the 2005 French Open through the 2009 Australian Open. This includes an all-time record 11 consecutive titles from the 2005 French Open through the 2007 US Open. Furthermore, Federer won three titles in 2004, increasing the total to 18 of the last 21. They have also dominated elsewhere, such as combining for 19 of the 27 Masters Series titles (10 for Federer, 9 for Nadal) from 2005–2007.
- Federer had the most dominant four year run in tennis history from 2004–2007.[10] His overall match record was 315–24, but this included a mere 6–8 against Nadal, who was the only man to have a winning record against him.
- Nadal has repeatedly denied Federer a Career Grand Slam by defeating him at the French Open every year from 2005–2008.
- Not only do both men possess Open era records for consecutive wins on a single surface – Federer on both grass (65) and hard courts (56), Nadal on clay (81) – but all three streaks were ended by the other man.
History
2004-2005
They played their first match in March 2004 at the third round of the Miami Masters. During the previous 9 months Federer had won his first two Grand Slam titles and became World No. 1 in February at the age of 22. Nadal, only 17 years old and ranked No. 34,shocked the tennis world by beating Federer in straight sets.
Their second meeting was a year later, again in Miami, but this time in the best-of-five-set final. Coming into the match, Federer had been a dominant World No. 1 for over a year. Nadal, still an up-and-comer ranked No. 31, won the first two sets. However, Federer recovered to win the third set in a tiebreak then controlled the final two sets, extending his record win streak in tournament finals to 18. Despite the blown lead, this match was considered by some tennis analysts as a breakthrough performance for Nadal.
They played again two months later in the semifinals of the French Open. This was their first meeting on clay, and the stakes were very high. Federer needed the French title to achieve a Career Grand Slam, having already won the other three Slams. But Nadal was now ranked No. 5 due to his emergence as a dominant clay-court player, winning five tournaments and 17 consecutive matches leading up to the French. He continued his win streak by defeating Federer in four sets en route to his first Grand Slam singles title.
Though they did not play again in 2005, they formed an effective duopoly over the mens game by winning three of the four Grand Slams and all eight Masters Series they entered. They both won 11 titles, including a single-season record four Masters Series each. Federer won his third consecutive Wimbledon and second U.S. Open. During the second half of the year he won 35 consecutive matches and extended his record win streak in tournament finals to 24, but both streaks ended when he lost only his fourth match of the year in the Masters Cup final.Nadal became World No. 2 in July, won eight clay titles, and finished the year on a 36 match clay win streak.
2006
They played six times in 2006. Nadal won the first four, beginning with the Dubai final in February. This ended Federer's Open era record of 56 consecutive wins on hard courts.
Nadal then continued his domination on clay, defeating Federer in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, the Rome Masters, and the French Open. The Rome final was an epic five hour battle in which Federer led 4-1 in the fifth set but later failed to convert two match points, and Nadal eventually triumphed in a tiebreak.[17] Nadal then broke the Open era record for consecutive wins on clay with his first round victory in the French Open. In the finals, Federer quickly won the first set, but Nadal fought back and won his second French title in a fourth set tiebreak.
They faced off again a month later in the finals of Wimbledon, their first meeting on grass. Nadal's run to the final was somewhat surprising, as most tennis analysts considered him a clay-court specialist.[18][19] On the other hand, Federer had broken the Open era record for consecutive wins on grass with his first round victory. Federer then fulfilled expectations by capturing his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title in four sets, also ending his five-loss streak against Nadal.
Their last match of the year was a straight-sets victory for Federer in the semifinals of the Masters Cup, which he proceeded to win for the third time in four years. Nadal's career head-to-head advantage was now 6-3.
In 2006, they dominated the men's tour again, this time winning all four Grand Slams and holding the top two rankings for the entire season. Federer had his best year, setting the all-time record for most rankings points by capturing a career-high 12 titles, including three Grand Slams, the Masters Cup, and four Masters Series. He won 92 of his 97 matches and finished the year on a 29 match win streak spanning five titles. But four of his losses were to Nadal, who finished the season undefeated on clay.
An important footnote is that the ATP decided to end best-of-five-set matches in Masters Series finals after 2006. This was due, in part, to both Federer and Nadal withdrawing from the Hamburg Masters tournament because it began the day after their grueling five hour match in Rome. Thus, their ensuing best-of-five-set encounters all occurred in Grand Slams.
They played five times in 2007, and Federer won three. This is the only season he won their head-to-head matchup, narrowing Nadal's career advantage to 8-6.
Federer began the year where he left off in 2006, extending his win streak to a career-best 41 matches. He dominated his opponents en route to his third Australian Open title, becoming the first man since Björn Borg in 1980 to win a Grand Slam without losing a set.He then won his career-high seventh consecutive tournament by capturing the Dubai title for the fourth time in five years.But his dominant streak ended in March with surprising losses to Guillermo Cañas in the early rounds of both Indian Wells and Miami. Nadal fared better at Indian Wells, winning the fifth hard court title of his career.
The spring clay-court season ensued, and for the second straight year Federer and Nadal played in three clay-court finals. Nadal won the first meeting in straight sets for his third consecutive Monte Carlo title. A few weeks later they met in the Hamburg Masters for the first time. Nadal entered with an 81-match clay win streak spanning over two years, but Federer defeated him for the first and only time on clay. He even bageled Nadal in the deciding third set. The next tournament was the French Open, and Nadal won their much-anticipated rematch in four sets, capturing his third consecutive French title. Federer squandered 16 of 17 break point opportunities, including 10 in the first set.
Their last two meetings in 2007 were also a repeat of 2006: the finals of Wimbledon and the semifinals of the Masters Cup. Once again Federer won both, though the Wimbledon final was much closer this time. After Federer won the first and third sets in tiebreaks, Nadal dominated the fourth set, resulting in Federer uncharacteristically losing his cool and complaining to the umpire about the Hawk-Eye line calling system. Nadal continued to apply pressure in the fifth set and earned two break point chances at 15-40 in both the third and fifth games. But Federer served well and saved all four break points. He then broke Nadal in the sixth game and swept the remaining games to earn his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, tying Borg's Open era record.[23]
As in 2006, they held the top two rankings for the entire year and won all four Grand Slams. For a record third time in four years Federer won three Slams, including his Open era record fourth straight U.S. Open title. He also won the Masters Cup for the fourth time in five years. Nadal continued his mastery on clay, winning five titles.
The only potential disruption to the status quo was the emergence of Novak Djokovic as a strong World No. 3 in the summer. He earned this ranking by defeating the top three players in sequence at the Canada Masters. But against Federer in the U.S. Open final he squandered seven set points en route to losing in straight sets.
2008
Federer and Nadal played four times in 2008, and Nadal won each time, extending his career advantage to 12-6. He also supplanted Federer as World No. 1 in August, ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign.
The first three months of the season were a threat to the top two because of Novak Djokovic's continued success. In January he won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, defeating Federer in the semifinals. This was the first Grand Slam that neither of the top two had won since the 2005 Australian Open. Djokovic then won the Indian Wells Masters and thus closed in on Nadal for the No. 2 ranking. But Nadal held him at bay by reaching the finals of the ensuing tournament in Miami, followed by yet another dominant spring clay-court season. Federer's performance dropped at the beginning of the year, and he later revealed that he had contracted mononucleosis in December 2007. However, he was back in playing shape for the spring season.
For the third straight year Federer and Nadal played in three clay-court finals. Nadal beat Federer in Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his Open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer holding a 4-0 lead in the second. A few weeks later Nadal avenged his only clay-court loss to Federer by defeating him in three sets for his first Hamburg title. And for the third straight year they played in the finals of the French Open. This was the most lopsided of all their matches, though, as Nadal only lost four games total and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999. This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record, and he won it without dropping a set.
They also met in the finals of Wimbledon for the third straight year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry. Nadal entered the final on a 23 match win streak, including his first career grass title at Queen's prior to Wimbledon. Federer was also on a roll, having won his record fifth grass title at Halle without facing a single break point and then reaching the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win. Amidst rain delays, they played the longest final in Wimbledon history (4 hours and 48 minutes), and Nadal captured the title by winning the fifth set 9-7 in near-darkness. Many long-time tennis analysts promptly concluded that this was the greatest match ever. By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became the first man since Borg in 1980 to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season. He also ended Federer's record streaks of five Wimbledon titles and 65 wins on grass.
Nadal continued to play well after Wimbledon, extending his win streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Canada Masters title then made it to the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters. However, Federer lost early in both tournaments. This course of events guaranteed Nadal the No. 1 ranking on August 18th, officially ending Federer's record 237 week reign.
Nadal then solidified his No. 1 ranking by winning the gold medal in singles at the Summer Olympics and reaching the semifinals of the U.S. Open for the first time. Meanwhile, Federer lost in the quarterfinals of Olympic singles but won the gold medal in doubles with Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer then captured his fifth straight U.S. Open title, becoming the first man to win two different Grand Slams five consecutive times each. Both Nadal and Federer defeated No. 3 Djokovic in the semifinals of their respective title runs.
For a record fourth consecutive year they finished as the top two ranked players and once again combined to win three Grand Slam titles. Nadal had his best overall year, seizing the No. 1 ranking after a record 160 weeks at No. 2. Federer's overall performance dropped from his previous four year run of dominance, but he still played well enough to narrowly edge Djokovic in the year-end rankings.
2009
Federer and Nadal have played once this year, as of February 8. Nadal won for the fifth straight time, extending his career advantage to 13–6.
They both began the year strong, reaching the finals of Australian Open. This was the first hard court Grand Slam final for Nadal, but Federer has already won 8 hard court titles (5 U.S. Open, 3 Australian) and had the extra incentive of his first opportunity to tie Pete Sampras' all-time Grand Slam title record (14). To compound matters for Nadal, he had survived a grueling 5 hour and 14 minute semifinal two days prior, while Federer had a comparably brief straight sets semifinal victory and an extra day of rest. The final was another grueling match (4 hours and 23 minutes), but Nadal prevailed again, decisively winning the fifth set 6-2. With his sixth career Grand Slam title, he joined Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander and Andre Agassi as the only men to win Grand Slams on all three surfaces (hard, grass, and clay), but he's the first to do so within a 12-month period.
Analysis
This is the statistical breakdown of their matches:
- All Matches: Nadal 13-6
By surface:
- Hard courts: Even 3-3
- Clay courts: Nadal 9-1
- Grass courts: Federer 2-1
- Carpet courts: Even 0-0
By tournament category:
- Grand Slam Finals: Nadal 5-2
- Grand Slam Matches (all): Nadal 6-2
- All Tennis Masters Series events: Nadal 5-4
- Tennis Masters Cup: Federer 2-0
By tournament round encounter:
- All Finals: Nadal 11-4
- All Non-Finals: Even 2-2
The highest number of matches between the pair have been played on clay, which is Nadal's favoured surface. Indeed, Nadal is so proficient on the surface that as of 5/5/08 he had won 102 of 103 clay court matches and 20 of 21 clay court tournaments entered since early 2005.Federer's sole win on clay broke Nadal's all-time record of 81 consecutive clay court wins. Although prior to the win at the 2007 Hamburg Masters, in which Federer achieved a bagel, he had lost his first five matches against Nadal on clay, the contests were in no way perfunctory affairs. Federer had taken a set off Nadal in each match bar one prior to Hamburg, held match points at the 2006 Rome Masters, and won the first set of the 2006 French Open 6–1. However, Federer seemed to regress in 2008, failing to take advantage of a 4–0 lead in Monte Carlo (second set) and a 5–1 lead in Hamburg (first set),before Nadal inflicted his heaviest victory yet over Federer at the French Open.
Meanwhile, as Federer routinely dominated the ATP Tour's hard court and grass court tournaments from 2004–2007, Nadal did not feature as prominently in the finals of hard court events. The Sportstar section of the The Hindu commented that, irrespective of this, Federer's negative win-loss record against Nadal was, "Not the kind of thing that looks pretty on the resume,"; Jon Wertheim, chief tennis writer of Sports Illustrated, countering this argument, estimated that the players' record against each other would be "closer to 50-50" had Nadal reached more hard court finals, despite Federer having a 3-2 advantage over Nadal on hard court.Given that Federer and Nadal always have the top two seedings when both playing in the same tournament (since July 25, 2005), they are always on opposite sides of the draw and therefore can usually not meet before the final. However, the Tennis Masters Cup has a tournament structure where they will meet in the semifinal if they come first and second in their respective four-man groups, and this happened in both 2006 and 2007.
The limited grass court season (four tournaments, including Wimbledon) makes meetings between the pair less frequent. However, their 3 meetings on grass have come at Wimbledon Championships final. On their initial encounter on grass, Nadal succumbed to Federer in four sets; however, he commented afterwards that grass remained a "difficult surface".Jimmy Connors commented at the time that it dispelled the idea that Nadal was merely a clay-court specialist. Nadal penetrated further in to Federer's game the subsequent year, taking Federer to five sets. However, it was the following year, on July 6, 2008, that Nadal claimed an historic victory over Federer on grass; ceasing Federer's all-time record of 65 consecutive grass court wins. Federer at that time had 40 straight wins at Wimbledon (all other victories came from Federer's winning streak at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, NRW, Germany), one shy of tying Bjorn Borg's all-time winning streak there of 41 (both Federer and Borg lost in the final of their fifth title defense but Federer was awarded a walkover against Tommy Haas in the 2007 event and so his streak was one match shorter).
Federer and Nadal have never played on a carpet surface; the likelihood of this impeded as a result of there being very few carpet tournaments, and also because both players did not attend the Paris Masters from 2004–2006.
Analysts have commented on how their differing personalities and playing styles have made the rivalry such a compelling one to follow.
Off court, the players enjoy a good-spirited relationship.
List of all matches
ATP, Davis Cup, and Grand Slam main draw results included.
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No.  | Date | Tournament, Location | Surface | Round | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2004 | Masters Series Miami, U.S. | Hard | R32 | Nadal | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 2. | 2005 | Masters Series Miami, U.S. | Hard | Final | Federer | 2–6, 6–7(4), 7–6(5), 6–3, 6–1 |
| 3. | 2005 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | Semifinal | Nadal | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| 4. | 2006 | Dubai, UAE | Hard | Final | Nadal | 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 5. | 2006 | Masters Series Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–2, 6–7(2), 6–3, 7–6(5) |
| 6. | 2006 | Masters Series Rome, Italy | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–7(0), 7–6(5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(5) |
| 7. | 2006 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | Final | Nadal | 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4) |
| 8. | 2006 | Wimbledon, London, England | Grass | Final | Federer | 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3 |
| 9. | 2006 | Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai, China | Hard | Semifinal | Federer | 6–4, 7–5 |
| 10. | 2007 | Masters Series Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 11. | 2007 | Masters Series Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Final | Federer | 2–6, 6–2, 6–0 |
| 12. | 2007 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 13. | 2007 | Wimbledon, London, England | Grass | Final | Federer | 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2 |
| 14. | 2007 | Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai, China | Hard | Semifinal | Federer | 6–4, 6–1 |
| 15. | 2008 | Masters Series Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Final | Nadal | 7–5, 7–5 |
| 16. | 2008 | Masters Series Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Final | Nadal | 7–5, 6–7(3), 6–3 |
| 17. | 2008 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | Final | Nadal | 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 |
| 18. | 2008 | Wimbledon, London, England | Grass | Final | Nadal | 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7 |
| 19. | 2009 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Final | Nadal | 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 |
Exhibitions
On November 21, 2006 they played an exhibition match on a hard court in Seoul, South Korea. Federer won 6–3, 3–6, 6–3.[41]
On May 2, 2007, they played in the "Battle of Surfaces" on a hybrid court that was half clay and half grass. Nadal prevailed 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(10).
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