Federer's birthday is 8 August 1981, while Nadal's is 3 June 1986. The former Basel ballboy out-aced Nadal 12-0 and struck 44 total winners. Federer has won the Wimbledon Championships eight times, and Nadal has won the championships twice. Federer left Miami with his third South Florida title, his third Sunshine Double and a tantalising question for fans to ponder: How long can one of the greatest of all-time keep up this stellar second act?Federer came out of the blocks in a hurry against Nadal. The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal has been arguably the most enthralling in the history of tennis and well over a decade after it began, it is still going strong. Federer has stated that early defeats to Nadal on clay courts had a long lasting mental effect on him in his matches against Nadal on other surfaces, and that the lopsided loss at 2008 French open affected him in his first two sets at 2008 Wimbledon final.As of September 2019 Roger Federer holds the all-time record for the most Grand Slam men's tournament titles with 20.
While Nadal has not won a year-end championship, he has made the finals twice, in 2010 and 2013. Their Their record six consecutive calendar years atop the rankings from 2005–10 was due to their unprecedented combined performance in the Grand Slam and Masters Series tournaments. A different viewpoint of their career evolution is offered by taking the season they ended with an age of 16 as starting point, and comparing their accomplishments at the same age. As Federer’s unforced error count rose to 44, Nadal continued to apply pressure on his serve with deep angled returns with significant pace. Five of Federer's titles were consecutive titles (from 2003 to 2007), and the sixth, seventh and eighth titles were won in 2009, 2012 and 2017.

They have played each other 40 times, with Nadal leading the head to head 24–16. Nadal is second on the all-time list for the most Grand Slam titles with 19 in total: 12 on clay, 5 on hard courts, and 2 on grass. Federer and Nadal have never faced each other in the Davis Cup or at the Olympics. The Swiss

1 in the year-end Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time since 2009. While Nadal excelled, he needed to, to combat the high level of aggression from Federer. He held to love for 4-2 "Hopefully there's more to come." Both players have won the Career Grand Slam (winning all four majors at least once). Federer has defeated Nadal in four out of five encounters they have had at the Year End Championships, including the 2010 final, which are played on indoor hardcourts. Federer has a 3–1 advantage over Nadal on this surface, winning the first two finals and the semifinal, while Nadal won the third final. He secured the double break off a spectacular In May 2014, eight-time Grand Slam tournament champion In November 2014, former world number 1 player Andy Roddick, in noting his support for Federer, explained why he believes that head-to-head results are not a valid factor in determining the greatest of all time, "For me Roger Federer is still ahead in the greatest-ever debate, with Rafael Nadal second. Together they have won 11 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, from the As tournament seedings are based on rankings, with the top two seeds placed on opposite sides of the draw, 25 of Nadal and Federer's 40 matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record nine Grand Slam finals and 12 Their most recent encounter was in the semifinal of the Federer and Nadal played their first match in March 2004 at the third round of the They played again two months later in the semifinals of the In 2006, Nadal and Federer faced each other in six matches. set with authority, holding to love with a forehand winner and an ace out wide

The fourth seed slapped 19 forehand winners, compared to 13 for Nadal. Rafael Nadal holds a record 35 Masters 1000 titles, with 25 of his titles on clay and 10 on hard courts.

During this span, they captured a combined record 21 of the 24 Grand Slam tournament titles (12 for Federer, 9 for Nadal), including a record 11 consecutive titles from 2005–07. Latest Federer's newfound success against Nadal has been ascribed to the improvement in the backhand, which he has been hitting harder and more easily returning Nadal's high bouncing forehand with the larger racquet.In 2019 Federer and Nadal have met twice, with each one prevailing once.