When was the Federer-Nadal rivalry at its best?

[Third Serve]

You can use any criteria you wish. When were both players consistently delivering the best matches? When were both players in very good form? When did they play most of their matches? Which time period was more enjoyable for you as a fan of one or both players? It could be 2007-2009, 2011-2012, or other years.

How about Federer-Djokovic?

Djokovic-Nadal?

 

[NatF]

06-09 tons of quality five set matches. Probably the zenith of quality in this era when looking at just one match up.

 

[RelentlessAttack]

06-09 tons of quality five set matches. Probably the zenith of quality in this era when looking at just one match up.

I would add 05 for Miami and FO

 

[TheSixthSense]

Something special about 2017.

Hard to argue against the first 4-5 years of that rivalry.

 

[Third Serve]

06-09 tons of quality five set matches. Probably the zenith of quality in this era when looking at just one match up.

2005 was pretty good to although I’m afraid that I would be including too long of a time span.

 

[Lew II]

06-09 tons of quality five set matches. Probably the zenith of quality in this era when looking at just one match up.

Djokovic and Nadal played 4 consecutive slam finals from WI11 to RG12.

 

[tennis_pro]

2011 WTF, 2017 Indian Wells

 

[NatF]

Djokovic and Nadal played 4 consecutive slam finals from WI11 to RG12.

Quality I said. Most of those slam finals in 2011-2012 were up and down in terms of quality.

 

[Lew II]

Quality I said. Most of those slam finals in 2011-2012 were up and down in terms of quality.

Who determines quality?

No other rivalry has ever played 3 consecutive slam finals. They played 4.

 

[NatF]

Who determines quality?

No other rivalry has ever played 3 conseutive slam finals. They played 4.

This is just my opinion man don't be so militant all the time.

I judge quality by stats, scoreline and eye test. The AO final was a legit classic but the other matches were not. You could add 2013 to the mix and pull in FO 2013, but that Fedal period will still have the greater volume of quality matches.

 

[RelentlessAttack]

Who determines quality?

No other rivalry has ever played 3 consecutive slam finals. They played 4.

Viewers, by entertainment and jaw dropping physical feats. Playing consecutive finals has more to do with your relative strength vs the field than your relative strength vs each other.

 

[RS]

2005-2009. Epic.
Best matches as epics produced IMO even if it is worse than Federer Djokovic rivalry overall.

 

[weakera]

2005-2009. Epic.

This is the only correct answer, it has been downhill since.

 

[RS]

This is the only correct answer, it has been downhill since.

11-12 was good as well though.

 

[clout]

2005-2009 was the best the Fedal rivalry had to offer. Classic after classic after classic. The contrast between prime Federer’s shotmaking and young Nadal’s power/defence made it 100x even better. Nadal then owned Fed for the first half of the 2010s before Fed inexplicably began owning Rafa in the second half of the 2010s

 

[Sport]

2006-2009. Why? Roland-Garros trilogy (2006-2008) and Wimbledon trilogy (2006-2008), plus the Australian Open 2009 final.

 

[Zara]

Never.

 

[Third Serve]

2006-2009. Why? Roland-Garros trilogy (2006-2008) and Wimbledon trilogy (2006-2008), plus the Australian Open 2009 final.

And Rome 2006.

Even their other matches such as Dubai and MC 2006 and Hamburg 2007-2008 were pretty good.

 

[Third Serve]

Sounds like there's a pretty clear consensus. Either 2005-2009 or 2006-2009.

I imagine finding the best years for Djokovic-Federer or Djokovic-Nadal would be harder.

 

[ABCD]

Sounds like there's a pretty clear consensus. Either 2005-2009 or 2006-2009.

I imagine finding the best years for Djokovic-Federer or Djokovic-Nadal would be harder.

What was H2H during these periods?

 

[RS]

Sounds like there's a pretty clear consensus. Either 2005-2009 or 2006-2009.

I imagine finding the best years for Djokovic-Federer or Djokovic-Nadal would be harder.

Nadal Djokovic 2008-2009 and 2011-early 12 and 2013.
Djokovic Federer 2007-2008 and 2011-2012 and 2014-2015.
That’s what I think.

 

[Third Serve]

What was H2H during these periods?

7-12 overall from 2005-2009 (could be miscalculated):

By surface:

Outdoor Hard: 1-2
Indoor Hard: 2-0
Grass: 2-1
Clay: 2-9

Funny that they met so many times on clay compared to hard even though it takes up a significantly smaller portion of the tour.

 

[ABCD]

7-12 overall from 2005-2009 (could be miscalculated):

By surface:

Outdoor Hard: 1-2
Indoor Hard: 2-0
Grass: 2-1
Clay: 2-9

Funny that they met so many times on clay compared to hard even though it takes up a significantly smaller portion of the tour.

Thanks.

 

[Frank Bannister]

A long time ago.

 

[kevaninho]

2006-2009. Why? Roland-Garros trilogy (2006-2008) and Wimbledon trilogy (2006-2008), plus the Australian Open 2009 final.

Those were magical times. Both guys defending their own patch each year. Never thought either would've stopped the other when 08 came around.

 

[clout]

Sounds like there's a pretty clear consensus. Either 2005-2009 or 2006-2009.

I imagine finding the best years for Djokovic-Federer or Djokovic-Nadal would be harder.

Nadal/Djokovic would probably be between 2008-2014.

Federer/Djokovic would probably be between 2009-2015

 

[Third Serve]

Nadal/Djokovic would probably be between 2008-2014.

Federer/Djokovic would probably be between 2009-2015

Seven years is a pretty vague time span.

 

[Fedforever]

As a non-objective opinion - 2017 was a pretty good period!!

 

[ibbi]

In the summer of 2006, 07 and 08 they contested the channel slam all three years! I think those three summers really are what made that rivalry what it is, garland it on either side with the 06 Rome final, and the 09 Australian Open final, and that's the period for me. I guess you can stretch it to the beginning of 06 because the Dubai and Monte Carlo matches were good too.

The whole thing really got this amazing kick start from 2005 where they won the 4 1000's apiece and established themselves as 1 and 2 in the world, but I think 05 even with some very fine matches in there is still really just precursor stuff to the main event.

Djokovic-Federer is a tougher one to call. Personally I like that period from US Open 2010 to about Wimbledon 2012, more specifically USO 10 to 11, I think that's when the rivalry was most competitive, but 2014 and 2015 were a major time in the rivalry too with all those finals.

Djokovic Nadal is obviously 2011-13.

 

[RS]

As a non-objective opinion - 2017 was a pretty good period!!

AO 2017 certainly was at least. Miami was a decent match too. The other 2 were Fed domination and playing at peak level.

 

[KINGROGER]

2005-2009. Shame we never got a USO match as I think it would’ve been a 4 set beat down (if you can call it that) and balanced it out a bit more.

2007-2012 for Federer-Djokovic. Youngster slowly overcoming the declining master. Follows the standard pattern of ATG rivalries.

2008-2014 for Nadal - Djokovic.

 

[topher]

Seven years is a pretty vague time span.

I'd agree with it for Novak-Rafa, except for 2014, as they had momentous matches in each year:

2008 - Olympics SF, what was essentially the final.
2009 - Madrid SF, even though Rafa won, the wear on his knees may have cost him RG 2009.
2010 - USO F, Rafa's career slam.
2011 - Many matches, USO F was the highest quality. 6 matches, all finals, all to Novak.
2012 - AO 2012, perhaps the peak of their rivalry.
2013 - RG 2013 SF, best match at RG in this era. Their Canada cup SF was very high quality.

Looking back at it, I might say that 2012-2013 was a peak of sorts, as they were most competitive then. Rafa dominated before 2011, and Novak in 2011. Novak has dominated off clay 2014 and on.

 

[Fedforever]

AO 2017 certainly was at least. Miami was a decent match too. The other 2 were Fed domination and playing at peak level.

A generous response, thank you.

Our fan lives would have been less stressful, but a lot poorer, if either of these two had decided to play football instead.

 

[NoleFam]

I would say 2006-2009 if we are talking Fedal. Federer and Djokovic's best years were 2011-2012 because after that it wasn't as much of a rivalry anymore in Slams. Djokovic and Nadal's best years were 2011-2013, and in my opinion was the best rivalry in the OE because of many reasons, the main being that they could beat each other on any surface and had baseline wars unlike anything we have ever seen and probably won't see again for a very very long time.