Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer: Decoding their rivalry at Wimbledon
What's the story
The 135th edition of the men's Wimbledon Championships will be underway on June 27. Rafael Nadal will hope to secure a third straight Grand Slam title this season. He won the Australian Open and French Open honors. Meanwhile, Roger Federer won't be taking part in the competition. However, he is the most successful player here. We decode their numbers at Wimbledon.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Federer is one of the greatest players in tennis history (men's singles). He owns the second-joint-most Grand Slam titles (20) with Novak Djokovic. However, Federer has faltered in recent times due to multiple injuries. On the other hand, Nadal has been on beast mode at Slam events this year. He has already raced to 22 Slam titles. He will be aiming to perform well.
Federer
Federer has won the most titles at Wimbledon
Federer is the most successful man at Wimbledon, having won eight titles (2003-07, 2009, 2012, 2017). The Swiss legend has won the joint-most consecutive Wimbledon titles (5) with Bjorn Borg. Federer has a win-loss record of 105-14 in the grass-court Slam. He is the only man to have won over 100 matches at Wimbledon (105). He claimed his 100th Wimbledon match-win in 2019.
Wimbledon
Federer has played 12 Wimbledon finals
Federer has reached 12 finals at Wimbledon, having lost on four occasions (2008, 2014, 2015, and 2019). Three of these losses have come against Novak Djokovic. The former has lost only one semi-final in the history of Wimbledon. Milos Raonic stunned him in the penultimate clash of the 2016 edition. However, the Canadian lost to Andy Murray in the final.
Nadal
Nadal has won Wimbledon twice
Out of the four Grand Slams, Nadal has won the least number of matches at Wimbledon. He has a win-loss record of 53-12 in the tournament. The Spaniard has won Wimbledon twice (2008 and 2010). Nadal has reached the final once and semi-final twice at the tournament ever since. He could not go past the fourth round at Wimbledon from 2012 to 2017.
Information
Federer set to miss 2022 Wimbledon
Federer, who won't feature at Wimbledon this year, will miss the grass-court Slam for the first time since 1999. He has featured in 22 Wimbledon Championships. Federer has competed at each of the editions since 1999 (his debut).
H2H record
H2H at Wimbledon: Federer has a 3-1 lead over Nadal
The two players have met on four occasions at Wimbledon. Federer has a 3-1 lead. He beat Nadal in successive finals in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, Nadal went on to stun Federer in five sets. Nadal won that match 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7. They last met in 2019 semis, where Federer triumphed in four sets.
Slams
Nadal has a 10-4 record over Federer at Slams
Nadal has a 3-1 lead over Federer at the Australian Open. Nadal also has a 100% record against Federer at Roland Garros. He has beaten Federer six times, including four finals. They haven't yet faced each other at the US Open. Overall, Nadal has a 10-4 win-loss record at Slams