In our previous article, we discussed the legendary rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — one of the greatest battles in tennis history. This time, however, we’re focusing on a rivalry that captured the hearts of fans worldwide — Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer. These two icons have not only defined an era of tennis but also helped make the sport more popular, elegant, and globally loved.
Although Roger Federer has now retired from professional tennis, his impact on the game and his epic duels with Nadal continue to inspire generations. It’s bittersweet not seeing these two legends face off anymore, as their matches always brought out the very best in each other.
With that said, let’s look back at the Top 5 Best Matches between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — timeless classics that defined modern tennis.
2008 Wimbledon Final
This is not just the best Nadal vs Roger match but by many people it is considered as the greatest Tennis match of all time. There have been matches longer than this one but this one still holds special to all fans. It was Roger Federer going for his 6th consecutive Wimbledon title and Rafael Nadal trying to win his first and it was a 5 set classic. Rafael Nadal won the first 2 sets 6-3 and 6-4 and everyone started to think that surely not Roger Federer could be beaten in 3 sets but Roger came back brilliantly in the next 2 sets winning them both in a tie breaker by 7-6 and 7-6 and it all led to the Final set. It was so close and finally Rafael Nadal won it 9-7 in 4 hours and 48 minutes of greatness.
2017 Australian Open Final
This was the first Grand Slam final between these 2 greats since 2011 so the fans were very excited about seeing these 2 go at it again and they did not disappoint as it was another 5 setter. This time Roger Federer won the first set 6-4 but Nadal came back in the second set winning it 6-3 but Roger won the 3rd easily by 6-1 but Rafa does not go away so easily and he won the 4th set 6-3 and again it was down to the last set and Rafael Nadal was 3-1 up but then something magical happened and Roger found another gear and won 5 games in a row to win the 5th set 6-3 and the Australian Open.
2009 Australian Open Final
This is another Australian Open classic between the 2 and it happened in 2009 which is 8 years before the last one. In this match Roger Federer was the favorite as he was going to equal the record of 14 Grand Slam titles of Pete Sampras. Nadal was a warrior in this match and he won the first set 7-5 but Roger won the 2nd set 6-3 but then Rafa won the 3rd in a tie break by 7-6 and yet again Roger was not to be denied as he came back strongly and won the 4th set 6-3 but in the 5th set Rafael Nadal showed his class and dominated Roger and won the set 6-2.
2006 Rome Masters Final
How good is this match that it without being a Grand Slam final makes it in this list. It was a 5 hour and 5 minute classic at Rome and yet again it was a 5 setter. It seems like these 2 cannot have Matches that are less than 5 sets which is great for the fans. Roger Federer won the first set in a tie break 7-6 but then Rafa Nadal came back and won the next 2 sets by 7-6 and 6-4 to a 2-2 lead but in the 4th set it was Roger Federer who won it 6-2 to take it to a decider. It again went to a tie break and this time Nadal won the tie break and the title.
2005 Miami Final
This is the 5th match on our list and even this is one of their best Matches and guess what, This was another 5 set classic. 4 set matches do not exist for these 2 all the legends and we are not complaining. This match was where Roger had to dig deep to win. He lost the first set 2-6 but then came back in the second to win it a close 7-6 but then the fighter Rafa won the third set in a tie break as well by 7-6 and it was 2-1 but Roger Federer showed why he was the best at that time as he won the 4th and 5th sets by 6-3 and 6-2 to win the Miami Final.
