‘It took Roger Federer almost his whole career to work Rafael Nadal out’, says former world No 4

Ewan West 05 Dec 2024 11:34 AM

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the end of a match

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after their final match at Wimbledon in 2019.

Australian tennis icon Pat Cash has asserted that it took Roger Federer “almost his whole career” to work out how to beat Rafael Nadal.

Nadal holds a 24-16 (60%) record from his 40 clashes with Federer, which were played across a 15-year period between 2004 and 2019.

The Spanish legend held an even more commanding 23-10 (69.7.%) lead over Federer in 2014 before the Swiss great won six of the last seven encounters.

Significantly, Nadal won 10 of his 14 Grand Slam matches with Federer (71.4%), including six of nine meetings in major finals.

Federer partnered Nadal on the doubles court in the last match of his remarkable 24-year career at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.

Nadal, who turned professional in 2001, retired from tennis at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga last month.

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Cash, who won Wimbledon in 1987, highlighted Nadal’s dominance against Federer for much of the pair’s iconic rivalry to illustrate the difficulty of facing the ‘King of Clay.’

“It took Federer almost his whole career to work him out,” the former world No 4 told Tennis Majors.

“That’s saying something, that’s how difficult it is, it took somebody as talented as Federer until last couple of years to finally work out how to beat him. He’ll be missed, for sure.”

Nadal explained why he considers Federer the “biggest rival” he faced in his career ahead of his farewell event.

“[Novak] Djokovic is the player I have faced the most, but for me, my biggest rival has been Federer. Because, when I arrived on the circuit, it was Federer who was there and he was the first,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner told AS in October.

“In the years when I was at my best in every sense of the word, it was Roger and Novak. But in the first years, which are the ones that leave a special mark on you, Roger was always there.

“I think, and I don’t know why, that my rivalry with the two of them has been more intense than the one they had between them. I don’t know exactly what the reason is, but I feel that the world perceives it that way. We would have to find the reason.

“With Roger, I am clear that it is because it was a very sharp contrast in styles and ways of seeing and approaching the sport.”