A Tribute To Rafael Nadal - His 3 Defining Matches Every Year With Highlights!!!

[objection_]

Well Rafa, it's been a wonderful journey following your career. The passion and intensity you bring to every point is unparalleled. One of my most favourite players of all time and I don't see that changing. Tennis will sorely miss you for the decades to come.
I suppose it's only fitting that we showcase his biggest matches. These aren't all wins, but they show the grit and perseverance we've come to expect over the years. Without further ado, let's begin.

2003-2004
Hamburg 2003 Vs Moya - A 16 year old Rafa's introduction to the big state, upsetting family friend, claycourt legend, future coach and at the time world number 4 Carlos Moya:

Miami 2004 Vs Federer - The first of 40 Fedal meetings, young Rafa took the world by storm, upsetting No 1 Fed at his peak, who had just won the WTF, AO, Dubai and IW:

Davis Cup 2004 Vs Roddick - In front of a raucous home crowd, the young Spaniard seals the deal in a classic against No 2 Roddick:

2005
AO 2005 Vs Hewitt - Emerging Nadal pushes eventual finalist Hewitt in a thrilling 5 setter, a mere sign of what was to come. He'd come a long way from his straight set, albeit tight defeat to Lleyton the year before at the same venue:

Rome 2005 Vs Coria - Arguably claycourt tennis at it's finest, the rallies, defence and stamina were simply absurd here. Amazing recovery for young Rafa to come back in the final set and edge this thriller:

Madrid 2005 Vs Ljubicic - Stunning comeback from 2 sets to love down in front of a home crowd to win his only indoor title:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDmyTZa7ec

2006
Rome 2006 Vs Federer - Fans who witnessed last year's epic were certainly enthralled to witness another classic for a second year in a row. Peak Federer pushing prime Rafa to the absolute brink. He remains the closest man to beat Nadal in a clay 5-set match:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUmnuhCnfG4

RG 2006 Vs Federer - The first Fedal slam final, Rafa pulling out a hard fought win to prevent Fed achieving 4 slams in a row (and potentially 7 slams in a row!!), turning around a 1-6 deficit in the first set to come through clutch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrC4CVID-d8

WB 2006 Vs Federer - The match that put to rest any doubts that this "claycourter" couldn't play on grass. Pushing Fed at the peak of his powers in 2 very tight sets, his ability to adapt and play aggressively was on full display here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD7VRFVxFiI

2007
AO 2007 Vs Murray - The first MurDal? NadRay? Meeting, a thrilling 5 setter on the classic green AO courts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXmLi0v4_KA

Rome 2007 Vs Davydenko - Some of the cleanest ballstriking of all time meets an immovable force and we get treated to an absolute war:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-kC3gpa4js

Wimbledon 2007 Vs Federer - The King of Grass faces his toughest challenge to the throne yet resulting in a tussle of stunning quality under the uniquely open Centre Court:

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2008
Chennai 2008 Vs Moya - An absolute war, almost 4 hours in a BO3 match against his future coach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XABipEmFn1E

Wimbledon 2008 Vs Federer - The greatest match of all time. The rain delays, the quality, the saved championship points, the picturesque ending. If tennis was art, this canvas would surely be it's finest masterpiece. Pure theatre:

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Olympics 2008 Vs Djokovic - Intense, passionate, hardhitting. Stunning performance from Rafa against the year's best HC player on the road to a cherished gold medal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfY-U7WOofY

To be continued:

 

[Deuce-all]

Great thread idea

 

[objection_]

2009
AO 2009 Vs Verdasco - This one gets an entire article describing it:

Rafael Nadal at the 2009 Australian Open

This is something I wrote as a comment at Pete Bodo’s TennisWorld blog after the 2009 Australian Open ended.

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AO 2009 Vs Federer - Back to back classics, the first 4 sets were unparalleled HC tennis:

Madrid 2009 Vs Djokovic - A pure war of attrition, Nadal needed to pull out every trick in his bag to come away with this 4 hour battle:

2010
WB 2010 Vs Haase and Petzschner - A double up on this one, back to back 5 setters in first week, fast grass to come through and win his second Wimbledon title:

USO 2010 Vs Djokovic - A crowning moment, finally completing the career slam, and it was amazing to see his nuclear serve throughout the 2 weeks:

WTF 2010 Vs Murray - Thrilling tennis with RAFA edging out Murray in front of his home crowd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRGvFAcjByQ

 

[Nappa]

Great work. Keep it coming.

 

[objection_]

2011
Miami 2011 Vs Djokovic - Incredible effort by the bull to push peak Djokovic to the brink on one of his best courts:

US Open 2011 Vs Djokovic - The scoreline doesn't do this one justice... Hell, the third set was so good, arguably the best (non-extended) set of all time that it has extended highlights of it's own that are longer than most match highlights:

Davis Cup 2011 Vs Del Potro - After a year with so many close final losses, Rafa turned it around by clinching the Davis Cup in a 4 set tussle against the Tower of Tandil:

 

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2012
AO 2012 Vs Federer - Stunning way to end Rogi's 24 match winstreak with some absurd passing shots:

AO 2012 Vs Djokovic - The most physically gruelling, endurance testing battle of all time, simply incredible to see those two barely standing in the trophy ceremony:

RG 2012 Vs Djokovic - Stunning revenge from Rafa after having lost the last 3 slam finals against Nole:

Bonus: RG 2012 from the perspective of the stands:

 

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2013
Indian Wells 2013 Vs Del Potro: The epic culmination of a comeback after 8 months off tour, paving the way for an incredible HC season to come:

RG 2013 Vs Djokovic: One of the greatest clay-court matches, that 5th set is the stuff of legends:

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USO 2013 Vs Djokovic: Nadal's final HC win against the Serb. 4-4 0-40 in the 3rd will be etched in our minds forever:

 

[messiahrobins]

This is the most legendary thread on this site. Magnificent work here. Glorious memories.

 

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2014
AO 2014 Vs Dimitrov - A classic, hardfought battle famous for Rafa's crouching duck celebration:

RG 2014 Vs Djokovic - The end of Nadal's prime years ended with a bang, eviscerating rocket DTL forehands:

WB 2014 Vs Kyrgios - A tantalising upset by the budding Aussie teenager that stunned the tennis world:

 

[objection_]

2015
WB 2015 Vs Brown - Dustin's crafty serve and volley coupled with deft dropshots made for a fun contest:

USO 2015 Vs Fognini - Fognini, Rafa's nemesis this year, turned up his level from 2 sets down to produce a memorable comeback:

Basel 2015 Vs Federer - After a disappointing year, Rafa found his form in the indoor season and delivered a memorable final against a rejuvenated Federer:

 

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2016
AO 2016 Vs Verdasco - The other lefty takes brutal revenge for the aforementioned 2009 SF with a blistering barrage of forehands:

MC 2016 Vs Monfils - A wonderful return to form and a moment of inspiration after a disappointing 2015, clinching his first masters in 2 years:

Olympics 2016 Vs Del Potro - Nadal, in spite of his recent physical issues, battled hard against Delpo's nuclear forehand and Rio's humidity:

 

[objection_]

2017
2017 AO Vs Dimitrov: A rematch of the 2014 Quarterfinal, Rafa prevailed in an epic 5 set, nearly 5 hour battle to make his first slam final since RG 2014:

2017 AO Vs Federer: A slam final for the ages no one saw coming, to see these two legends come back from injury and contest this classic was a dream come true for so many around the world:

2017 WB Vs Muller: A thrilling classic stretching to 15-13 in the 5th, famous for Rafa banging his head on the roof during the warmup. Despite the loss, this match was a surefire sign Rafa was returning to quality grasscourt form: