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The rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is considered one of the greatest in tennis and sports history. Nadal and Federer are fierce rivals on the tennis court but are also great friends off of it.
The two have contested against each other on a total of 40 occasions, with Nadal leading their head-to-head 24-16. They locked horns in nine Grand Slam finals, with the Spaniard coming out on top in six of those while Federer won three.
The last meeting between the two greats of the game came in the semifinals of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. The Swiss maestra won 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to make it into the final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in heartbreaking fashion.
Roger Federer may have retired, but fans haven't forgotten the great matches and intense battles he played against Rafael Nadal, many of which went the distance. So, without further ado, let us take a look at the five longest matches played by Nadal and Federer.
#5 Wimbledon 2007 Final - 3 hours and 45 minutes
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer competed in a replay of the 2006 Wimbledon final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club the following year.
Federer defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili, Juan Martin del Potro, Marat Safin, Tommy Haas and Juan Carlos Ferrero in his first four games in the tournament. He then beat Richard Gasquet to reach his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final.
Nadal, on the other hand, took down Mardy Fish, Werner Eschauer, Robin Söderling, Mikhail Youzhny and Tomas Berdych to start his campaign. He then defeated Novak Djokovic to make it into the final.
Federer managed to gather an early lead in the first half of the first set, but Nadal forced a memorable tie-breaker, which was eventually won by the former. The Spaniard sealed the second set and the third set was again decided on a tie-break in favor of Federer.
In the fourth set, Rafael Nadal took an early 4-0 lead and eventually won it 6-2. However, Roger Federer proved too strong in the fifth set, closing out the match 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2 to secure his fifth Wimbledon title on the trot.
#4 Monte Carlo 2006 Final - 3 hours and 50 minutes
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal faced each other for the fifth time overall and first time ever in Monte Carlo back in 2006. It was Federer's first final in Monaco, while Nadal was already the defending champion.
In the first set, the Swiss initially hit a double fault, and then, with a poor backhand, Nadal managed to get the score to 3-0. Following a number of unforced errors, Federer lost his grasp on the first set and the Spaniard won it 6-2.
The defending champion looked strong in the second set but a couple of errors from his side forced the set into a tie-break. Federer won the tiebreak 7-2 to level the match.
The third set had a story similar to the first as Nadal won 6-3 to restore his lead.
The fourth set was a do-or-die affair for the Swiss. Both players went neck-and-neck in every single game and the set was forced into a tie-break.
Rafael Nadal eventually won it to register a 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Roger Federer and lift his second Monte Carlo Masters title on the trot.
#3 Australian Open final 2009 - 4 hours and 23 minutes
Another unforgettable match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer took place in the summit clash of the 2009 Australian Open.
Nadal reached the quarterfinals after comfortable wins over Christophe Rochus, Roko Karanušić, Tommy Haas, and Fernando González. In the last-eight, he took down Gilles Simon before surviving a scare from Fernando Verdasco to reach his maiden hard-court final.
He was up against Federer, who also had a difficult journey to the summit clash. The Swiss defeated Andreas Seppi, Evgeny Korolev, Marat Safin and Tomas Berdych to reach the last eight. He then beat Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Roddick to set up a final with his arch-rival.
After a battle full of intense action, Rafael Nadal managed to defeat Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 to lift the Australian Open title for the first time in his career. It was also the Spaniard’s sixth Grand Slam singles title.
#2 Wimbledon 2008 final - 4 hours and 48 minutes
During the 2000s, Roger Federer was unstoppable at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, winning six Wimbledon titles between 2003 and 2009. However, he failed to win the grasscourt Major in 2008 when he faced Rafael Nadal in the final.
Top seed Federer defeated Dominik Hrbatý, Robin Söderling, Marc Gicquel, Lleyton Hewitt, Mario Ancic, and Marat Safin, all in straight sets, to reach the final that year. He was up against Nadal for the third consecutive year.
The Spaniard had defeated Andreas Beck, Ernests Gulbis, Nicolas Keifer, Mikhail Youzhny, Andy Murray and Rainer Schuttler en route to the summit clash.
As the match got underway, Rafael Nadal managed to seal the first two sets 6-4, 6-4. However, Roger Federer bounced back strongly to win the third and fourth sets 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) and force the match into a fifth set, which Nadal narrowly won 9-7.
After 4 hours and 48 minutes of intense action along with three rain delays, the 22-time Grand Slam champion won his first Wimbledon title.
#1 Italian Open 2006 final - 5 hours and 5 minutes
At the 2006 Italian Open, Roger Federer was seeded first, while Rafael Nadal was not too far behind, seeded second.
Nadal defeated the likes of Carlos Moya, Filippo Volandri, Tim Henman, Fernando González, and Gael Monfils to reach the final of the tournament. He was up against Federer, who beat Juan Ignacio Chela, Potito Starace, Radek Stepanek, Nicolas Almagro Sanchez and David Nalbandian enroute to the summit clash.
From comebacks to intense moments, the final between the two tennis stars had everything. Entering the match, Federer was in his absolute prime while Nadal was on his iconic 81-match winning streak on clay.
The first set was won by the Swiss maestro on a tie-breaker. Similarly, the second set also went into a tie-break, but it was claimed by Nadal. The Spaniard then closed the third set 6-4, but Federer hammered him 6-2 in the fourth set to level the match.
The final set was tightly contested and Rafael Nadal eventually won it 7-6 (5) to successfully defend his title in Rome.
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