Why Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal Never Played at US Open: 6 Times a Fedal Match at Flushing Meadows Was Points Away From Reality
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s fabled rivalry involved the duo playing 40 matches against each other. While both of them have played in most tournaments, the one major one in which they somehow escaped a blockbuster clash is the US Open. This is perhaps the only blot in the ‘Fedal’ story, as they have gone head to head on American soil multiple times otherwise.
Out of those 40 matches, 20 were on hard courts and Federer actually had the edge over Nadal, 11-9. The Swiss maestro’s supporters could argue that his record against Nadal might have been way better had they clashed more on hard courts and in the US Open. Nevertheless, here are the 6 instances when Federer and Nadal missed out by the barest of margins of playing that dream match in New York City.
US Open 2008 and 2009: When Rafael Nadal faltered
Roger Federer won the US Open for 5 straight years in a row from 2004 to 2008, dominating world tennis like none other. On the other hand, Rafael Nadal took some time to catch up when it comes to being proficient on hard courts. The Spanish legend won 4 championships, i.e. in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019, gradually improving to be a versatile player with age.
However, Nadal could have found success in New York City much earlier, i.e. in 2008. That was arguably the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s year as he had won the French Open and Wimbledon titles back-to-back for the first time in his career. On both the occasions, he had beaten Federer and overtaken him to become World No.1 in the ATP rankings.
When it came to the US Open 2008, Rafael Nadal was in blistering form and his opponent in the semi-final was someone relatively unknown at the time, Andy Murray. In what could be still called an upset of sorts, for the first time in his career after 5 losses, Murray beat Nadal, 6-2, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the final. Needless to say, Roger Federer would have been the happiest seeing that result and made the most of it to win the final and his 5th title.
The following year was another great opportunity for Nadal as he had won the Australian Open at the start of 2009. However, his opponent in the semi-final was the unheralded Argentinian, Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro had beaten him twice prior to that match, in Toronto and Cincinnati respectively. He capitalized on those wins to outclass the Spaniard in straight sets.
As a result, Federer had a real shot at another Grand Slam, as he was expected to beat del Potro. But the opposite happened as Federer’s dominance in NYC was brought to a halt and it was a rare instance at the time to see a player not named Federer or Nadal lifting a Grand Slam trophy.
US Open 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2017: When Roger Federer was left behind
Little did Federer or Nadal realize that a phenomenon named Novak Djokovic will rise in the tennis world to challenge their duopoly. Djokovic took on Federer in the semi-final of the US Open 2010. The Swiss maestro was again the favorite to win that match. But much to the shock of most of the tennis world, he failed to capitalize on 2 match points when he was up 4-5 at 15-40 on Djokovic’s service game. Remarkably, the Serbian clinched the deciding fifth set to deny Federer a place in the final against Nadal by a whisker. In the final, Nadal went on to beat Djokovic for the first US Open title of his career, which made him bag all the 4 Grand Slams.
A year later, the US Open 2011 semi-final was a rematch of the 2010 one as once again, Federer locked horns with Djokovic aiming for revenge. But on that occasion, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was in full form, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon that year. As a result, it was more like a battle of the equals as Federer hadn’t won a Grand Slam since 2010.
That match also went right down to the wire and it was deja vu for the Swiss master. He was up 5-3 in the fifth set and serving at 40-15. Many were wondering who writes scripts of these greats as Federer again choked, conceding 2 match points and remembering 2010, Djokovic made the most of the opportunity for the second time to once again play Nadal in back-to-back US Open finals.
Come 2013 and many believed that Federer might not make it very far as Nadal, Djokovic and Murray were extremely strong on the ATP Tour. Seeded 7th, the 20-time Grand Slam champion could have met Nadal for a change in the quarterfinals that year. However, another Spaniard, Tommy Robredo had other plans as irony would have it, he pulled off the first win of his career after 10 losses over Roger Federer in the Round of 16. Five years prior to that, Nadal suffered a similar fate in the hands of Murray. Nadal went on to win the title by beating Djokovic in the final like in 2010.
Lastly, in 2017, Federer was having a career renaissance, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles that year at the age of 36. As a result, he was one of the favorites to win the US Open in Djokovic’s absence and other talents not yet being Grand Slam contenders on the ATP Tour. It was all going as per plan for Federer until he met del Potro, his 2009 final opponent in the quarterfinals.
The Argentinian may have been aging as well, but found his mojo to overcome the Swiss legend in 4 sets. Had Federer won, he would have been the one to play Nadal in the semi-finals that year and would have fancied his chances, since he beat the Spaniard in all their clashes that year. Fans indeed remembered 2009 as the story flipped completely on that occasion, but Nadal was more experienced and capable in 2017. He beat del Potro in the semifinals and Kevin Anderson in the final to win his third US Open title.
