Article 30-11-06 (2)

Federer-Nadal: The Greatest Rivalry Ever?
Photo By Susan Mullane	By The Senator 11/23/2006 One and two added up to six memorable matches in 2006 as top-ranked Roger Federer faced off with second-ranked Rafael Nadal six times in building the foundation for the marquee match in men's tennis that has the potential to propel the popularity of the game to new levels.
Five of those six matches came in tournament finals staged in the first seven months of the season with Nadal winning the first four meetings of 2006 against Federer. Regardless of who you favor in this match-up, one thing that everyone should agree on is that this has been a pretty amazing year between Federer and Nadal and, as a result, for tennis overall. Aside from the high quality of play in their six matches, including Saturday's semifinal in Shanghai, it's been an unusually great year for the frequency of these match-ups. In fact, you have to go back to 1984 to find a year in which the year-end number one and number two played each other as often. That was when John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors battled it out six times, including the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. That year, however, was completely one-sided as McEnroe won all six times, including four straight-set victories. Only the Toronto and U.S. Open matches went the distance. No other year going back to 1973 (my year-end rankings sheet only goes back that far) featured as many head-to-head matches between the year's top two players. The next closest years were: 1997 (Sampras v. Rafter) 1995 (Sampras v. Agassi) 1990 (Edberg v. Becker) 1986 (Lendl v. Becker) 1985 (Lendl v. McEnroe) 1983 (McEnroe v. Lendl) 1979 (Borg v. Connors), with five head-to-head matches in each year. Aside from the simmering (usually, but not always, below the surface) hostility of the Connors/McEnroe and Lendl/McEnroe matches in 1983-85, and the titanic struggles of Agassi/Sampras in 1996, I'm hard-pressed to remember a one versus two rivalry year that even comes close to this year with Federer v. Nadal. So, was 2006 the greatest rivalry year ever? Weigh in with your opinion on the Federer-Nadal rivalry here or read on for a review of some of the memorable moments in the 2006 Federer-Nadal rivalry: The Swiss stylist showed his all-court skills by rolling over Nadal in a near-flawless first set of their first meeting in the Dubai final before Nadal, an intelligent tactician, rallied for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, victory in front of a sold-out crowd that included Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg. Asked afterward if he favored Nadal, whose heavy topspin strokes, extraordinary endurance and comprehensive court coverage echo his own play on clay, Borg said he is a fan of both players. "I really like them both," Borg told Tennis Week. "Yes, Nadal is incredibly strong, both physically and mentally, and he moves so well. Both play tennis at its very best, and I really enjoy watching it, as I did in Dubai. In the first set, Federer played near-perfect tennis. It was great. But overall, I can't say I have a favorite, I just appreciate the level of tennis both of them are capable of reaching." That level soared to heights higher than the helipad in Dubai that served as the temporary tennis court for the Federer-Agassi photo-op when Nadal and Federer met in Masters Series finals in Monte Carlo and Rome. Nadal held off Federer, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(5), to successfully defend his Monte Carlo title. The most riveting match of the rivalry came in Rome when Nadal fought off two match points to subdue the Swiss stylist, 6-7, 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5), in a five-hour Rome final. The match proved to be a prelude to the French Open final that was a collision of the world's top two players each carrying significant streaks into the match: Federer entered the French final on a 27-match winning streak in Grand Slam play and was bidding to complete his quest for a career Grand Slam, while Nadal carried an Open Era record 59 consecutive clay-court victories into the final. Ripping a swinging forehand winner crosscourt on match point with all the force of a vicious uppercut that crumpled an opponent he had cornered, Nadal completed a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) knockout of the World No. 1 in stirring style to capture his second consecutive Roland Garros crown and extend his Open Era record clay-court winning streak to 60 matches. Analyzing Federer's French Open loss to Nadal, Hall of Famer Mats Wilander summarized the setback succinctly: "I think he choked, mentally, I really do, Wilander says in his 20-minute video analysis of the French Open final posted on Mats Wilander.com. "Nadal is the first player to challenge Federer in any way. After the first set, Hewitt would have thrown in the towel, Roddick would have thrown in the towel. Everyone says Federer is too good, and he is too good, but they don't have the balls that Nadal has. After the first set Nadal says if you play the way you played the first set then it's true you are the greatest...Federer is a fighter and he should know he has the game to win the French Open. Whether he has the game to beat Nadal at the French Open is another question, but let's hope he doesn't pull a Pete Sampras and (that) he keeps coming back because he's fun to watch — he's the most fun player to watch." Federer asserted his authority as one of the greatest grass-court players in the Open Era when he snapped his five match losing streak to Nadal on the Centre Court of the All England Club. Summoning the competitive composure he'd shown in claiming seven of the prior 11 major finals, Federer stared down the challenge to his reign and responded with a stirring set of shot making and quick court coverage to complete a 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3 conquest of his nemesis Nadal. The top-seeded Swiss scored his 48th straight grass-court victory to join seven-time Wimbledon winner Pete Sampras and five-time champion Bjorn Borg as the third man in the Open Era to capture four consecutive Wimbledon crowns. "(Federer) knows exactly what he has to do," Borg told Tennis Week. "He's an amazing tennis player, really great to watch. And he has no weakness." When the 14-time Grand Slam champion Sampras surveys the field he sees Federer is several levels above all prospective opponents chasing him and predicts the Swiss stylist may well conclude his career holding every major tennis record. Widely regarded as two of the most talented men in the history of the sport, Sampras said he sees some of the qualities he exhibited in winning Wimbledon seven times in an eight-year span from 1993-2000 to Federer. Both Sampras and Federer are outstanding athletes, who combined quickness agility and leaping ability to play explosive all-court tennis. "When I look at Roger, I'm a fan," Sampras said. "I mean, I'm a fan of how he plays, what he's about, just the fact that I think he's a class — I don't know him personally — but seems like he's a class guy on and off the court. He's fun to watch. Just his athletic ability, what he's able to do on the run. I think he can and will break every tennis record out there. I just think he's the only really great player I see playing. I think Nadal is really good and he's a great player, but I just think there's less of him. Today I think Roger is two, three levels above the rest. The fact that he seems like he's even getting better. You combine all that, I don't really see anyone threatening the No. 1 ranking. I think he's just too consistent and too good and has a fear factor in everyone else that I had at times, but I think he has it even more." The final installment of the 2006 Federer-Nadal rivalry saw Federer score a quality straight-sets win in Saturday's Shanghai semifinal. So, was 2006 the greatest rivalry year ever? Can 2007 top it?

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