Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-3, 6-3 in the Miami third round/round of 32, 2004 on hard court
It was the first singles meeting between the pair and they had played doubles against one another at the previous tournament in Indian Wells (Nadal and Tommy Robredo had beaten Federer and Yves Allegro). Federer was world number 1 and had recently won Australian Open and Indian Wells. Nadal was 17 years old and seeded 32
Nadal won 58 points, Federer 46
Serve Stats
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (39/48) 81%
- 1st serve points won (31/39) 79%
- 2nd serve points won (5/9) 56%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/48) 19%
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (34/56) 61%
- 1st serve points won (21/34) 62%
- 2nd serve points won (13/22) 59%
- Aces 8
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/56) 29%
Serve Pattern
Nadal served...
- to FH 30%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 15%
Federer served...
- to FH 26%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 9%
Return Stats
Nadal made...
- 38 (14 FH, 24 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (2 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Forced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (38/54) 70%
Federer made...
- 37 (14 FH, 23 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 3 Forced (3 FH)
- Return Rate (37/46) 80%
Break Points
Nadal 3/7 (4 games)
Federer 0
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Nadal 13 (5 FH, 3 BH, 3 FHV, 2 OH)
Federer 11 (9 FH, 1 BH, 1 OH)
Nadal's FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl return, 1 inside-out return, 1 longline pass and 1 drop shot (inside-out)
- BHs - 3 cc (1 pass, 1 at net)
Federer's FHs - 4 cc, 2 dtl, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BH pass - 1 cc
- the OH was the first volley off a serve-volley point
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Nadal 17
- 15 Unforced (4 FH, 11 BH)
- 2 Forced (2 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.3
Federer 34
- 19 Unforced (14 FH, 3 BH, 2 FHV)
- 15 Forced (8 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV)… including 1 FH running-down-drop-volley at net
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.4
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nadal was...
- 13/14 (93%) at net
Federer was...
- 4/12 (33%) at net, including...
- 2/3 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
Match Report
Historic for being the first meeting between the two. Impressive from the young Nadal as he essentially overpowers Federer from the back of the court, which plays on the slow side of normal - faster than typical Miami standard
Key difference is an odd one and not one that was often repeated in the pair's matches; Forced errors - Nadal 2, Federer 15. The other surprise stat are net points; Nadal 13/14 @ 93%, Federer 4/12 @ 33%
Serve & Return
Federer's overall numbers are respectable. 61% first serves in (good), 62% first serve points won (not bad in slow-ish conditions) and 59% second serve points won (very good). Nadal though has first class numbers of 81% first serves in, winning 79% such points. Behind this is a problem that would come to plague Federer - not doing much with the return against a relatively ordinary serve
Nadal's serve is quite ordinary and not difficult to neutralize. He mixes it up of direction and type, but little he sends down is much of a challenge. Nor is Fed challenged to make the return as he puts 80% of them back in play
On top of consistency, Fed's not unduly passive with the return, i.e. he's not chipping BHs. Gives the BH returns a short swing. The third ball his returns tend to leave Nadal require initiative for the server to take charge off - and Nadal is up to it
On flip side, usual good serving from Federer, especially off placement. 8 aces is a decent number (Nadal has 1), and unreturned rate of 29% an ample head start in the conditions (Nadal 19%)
Nadal returns from orthodox position and hits harder than he was to come to do. Some good, hard hitting returns. He hits back to back FH winners at one point. Still, nothing too worrying for Fed. He also draws a number of short returns - even with the second serve - and is prepared to launch into them with FHs
Considerable advantage to Federer on the serve-return complex
It was the first singles meeting between the pair and they had played doubles against one another at the previous tournament in Indian Wells (Nadal and Tommy Robredo had beaten Federer and Yves Allegro). Federer was world number 1 and had recently won Australian Open and Indian Wells. Nadal was 17 years old and seeded 32
Nadal won 58 points, Federer 46
Serve Stats
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (39/48) 81%
- 1st serve points won (31/39) 79%
- 2nd serve points won (5/9) 56%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/48) 19%
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (34/56) 61%
- 1st serve points won (21/34) 62%
- 2nd serve points won (13/22) 59%
- Aces 8
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/56) 29%
Serve Pattern
Nadal served...
- to FH 30%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 15%
Federer served...
- to FH 26%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 9%
Return Stats
Nadal made...
- 38 (14 FH, 24 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (2 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Forced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (38/54) 70%
Federer made...
- 37 (14 FH, 23 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 3 Forced (3 FH)
- Return Rate (37/46) 80%
Break Points
Nadal 3/7 (4 games)
Federer 0
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Nadal 13 (5 FH, 3 BH, 3 FHV, 2 OH)
Federer 11 (9 FH, 1 BH, 1 OH)
Nadal's FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl return, 1 inside-out return, 1 longline pass and 1 drop shot (inside-out)
- BHs - 3 cc (1 pass, 1 at net)
Federer's FHs - 4 cc, 2 dtl, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BH pass - 1 cc
- the OH was the first volley off a serve-volley point
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Nadal 17
- 15 Unforced (4 FH, 11 BH)
- 2 Forced (2 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.3
Federer 34
- 19 Unforced (14 FH, 3 BH, 2 FHV)
- 15 Forced (8 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV)… including 1 FH running-down-drop-volley at net
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.4
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nadal was...
- 13/14 (93%) at net
Federer was...
- 4/12 (33%) at net, including...
- 2/3 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
Match Report
Historic for being the first meeting between the two. Impressive from the young Nadal as he essentially overpowers Federer from the back of the court, which plays on the slow side of normal - faster than typical Miami standard
Key difference is an odd one and not one that was often repeated in the pair's matches; Forced errors - Nadal 2, Federer 15. The other surprise stat are net points; Nadal 13/14 @ 93%, Federer 4/12 @ 33%
Serve & Return
Federer's overall numbers are respectable. 61% first serves in (good), 62% first serve points won (not bad in slow-ish conditions) and 59% second serve points won (very good). Nadal though has first class numbers of 81% first serves in, winning 79% such points. Behind this is a problem that would come to plague Federer - not doing much with the return against a relatively ordinary serve
Nadal's serve is quite ordinary and not difficult to neutralize. He mixes it up of direction and type, but little he sends down is much of a challenge. Nor is Fed challenged to make the return as he puts 80% of them back in play
On top of consistency, Fed's not unduly passive with the return, i.e. he's not chipping BHs. Gives the BH returns a short swing. The third ball his returns tend to leave Nadal require initiative for the server to take charge off - and Nadal is up to it
On flip side, usual good serving from Federer, especially off placement. 8 aces is a decent number (Nadal has 1), and unreturned rate of 29% an ample head start in the conditions (Nadal 19%)
Nadal returns from orthodox position and hits harder than he was to come to do. Some good, hard hitting returns. He hits back to back FH winners at one point. Still, nothing too worrying for Fed. He also draws a number of short returns - even with the second serve - and is prepared to launch into them with FHs
Considerable advantage to Federer on the serve-return complex