Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s iconic rivalry featured some of the greatest matches of all time.
The two delivered classics over their careers, including five-set thrillers in the 2008 Wimbledon final and the 2017 Australian Open final.
Perhaps the most lopsided meeting between the two, however, came in the final of the French Open in 2008.
Before Federer’s 2009 triumph at Roland Garros, which he deemed to be his ‘greatest win’ at the time, the 20-time Grand Slam champion had never held the famous trophy aloft on court Philippe Chatrier.
The man solely responsible for that was Nadal, who defeated his rival in the final of the tournament three years in a row from 2006 to 2008.
The third of those losses was the most humiliating for Federer, who had no answers for the king of clay in 2008, falling to Nadal in straight sets.
It was one of the heaviest defeats in Grand Slam final history, and Federer couldn’t believe what he had just come up against.
Roger Federer said there was nothing he could do in the 2008 French Open final against Rafael Nadal
Following the defeat, Federer said: “When he is on the attack, he is lethal and he made some incredible defensive shots. “I had a small chance in the second set, but he has played a terrific tournament.
“To come up with a performance like this shows what a great champion he is.
“He plays like two forehands from the baseline because he has an open stance on both sides, so he’s got a huge advantage, and he’s so tough mentally too.
“I don’t think I served badly, but he has made huge progress returning it, and I realised there was nothing I could do.”
Federer concluded: “He no longer plays short balls as he did in the past, and you can no longer attack him on his forehand. He was just much stronger than me today. But the clay season is over, so let’s see what happens.”
The match finished 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in favour of the Spaniard, who sealed his fourth consecutive French Open title, emulating Bjorn Borg‘s winning run at the tournament from 1978 to 1981.
Nadal needed just one hour and 48 minutes to best Federer, making the victory the second most devastating final at Roland Garros in the Open Era, following Guillermo Vilas’ 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 win over Brian Gottfried in 1977.
Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten run at the French Open from 2005 to 2008
Nadal’s first title at Roland Garros came in his debut at the tournament in 2005.
He tore through his side of the draw before overcoming Federer in the semi-final and Mariano Puerta in the final.
In 2006, Nadal dropped just two sets en route to the championship match, where he played his first of three consecutive final clashes with Federer at the French Open.
| Year | Result | Final Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Winner | Roger Federer |
| 2007 | Winner | Roger Federer |
| 2006 | Winner | Roger Federer |
| 2005 | Winner | Mariano Puerta |
The 22-time major champion had an even better run in 2007, where he only dropped one set throughout the tournament, which came in the final.
He finally made it four in a row with the dominant victory over Federer in 2008, adding a 12th win to his tally over the Swiss legend, who he led 10-1 on clay at the time.
Nadal’s unbeaten run at the French Open came to an end in 2009 when he suffered a shocking upset to Robin Soderling in the fourth round.
It didn’t put an end to his greatness on clay, however, as he then went on to win five in a row from 2010 to 2015, and ultimately finished his career with a record 14 Roland Garros titles.
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