Former World No. 1 Roger Federer and former top ranked player Rafael Nadal's rivalry was reprotedly so "intense" that the 34-year old Swiss tennis pro was forced to change his game plan several times.
"The most intense rivalry I have ever had was with Rafa, no doubt on that," said Federer, according to Tennis World. "It has been an epic and incredible rivalry and it will continue to be like this because we are going to play often in the future."
"He made me change my game many times since he is lefty and we had never seen a player who could hit the ball so much spin. If we see the way I played in 1999 and the way I play now, the change is brutal. Now I play with more strength, before I had such a 'soft' game. My movements, the way I hit the ball, I'm a different player due to Rafa's presence," Federer added.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's rivalry has given them 33 matches already and the Spanish pro is leading 23-10. have clashed eight times in the Grand Slam, met four times at the French Open, in a single Grand Slam tournament while they have never competed at the US Open.
International Business Times, in its report, highlighted that in their meetings, Nadal leads over Ferrer with a record of 3-0 at the Australian Open with wins in 2009, 2012 and 2014; and a record of 5-0 at the French Open with wins in 2005 to 2007, 2008 and 2011. In the Wimbledon Championships, however, Federer leads over Nadal with a record of 1-2.
On the other hand, in consideration of total titles won, Federer dominated Nadal with a record-holder of 17 Grand Slam Titles as compared to Nadal's 14 titles. The two has never played head-to-head since the 2014 Australian Open semi-final, where Nadal won in straight sets.
