Rafael Nadal explains the ‘mistake’ Roger Federer made against him during the beginning of their rivalry

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Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played out one of the sport’s greatest rivalries, competing in 40 matches over 15 years.

The Spanish and Swiss stars dominated men’s tennis alongside Novak Djokovic for a generation, winning a combined 66 Major titles.

Nadal and Federer played one another 40 times in total, with the former leading the head-to-head, 24-16, despite losing six of their last seven matches.

The Spaniard emerged on the ATP Tour in a period where Federer seemed unbeatable, holding the world number-one ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks between 2004 and 2008.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Nadal who stole the top spot away from his Swiss rival, finally reaching the summit in August 2008.

Speaking after his retirement, the 38-year-old now explains the reasons behind his success against Federer and reflects on the mistake the 20-time Major champion made during their earlier encounters.

Rafael Nadal says Roger Federer made a ‘mistake’ hitting to his forehand at the ‘beginning of his career’

Appearing as a guest on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Nadal explained to Andy Roddick the mistake Federer was making against him at the beginning of their rivalry.

“For me he was making a mistake against me at the beginning of his career,” he said.

“He was trying to play from his backhand, again with topspin, so he gave me the chance to keep hitting forehands against backhand, so he gave me the time.”

Nadal then admitted the Swiss star made an adjustment later on in his career that turned his fortunes around.

“At the end of his career he started going in, taking more risk,” he said.

“He was playing, for me, honestly 2017 was the best level of his career, in terms of creating, you felt like you were in his hands.

“He made a step forward, he was playing much more aggressive.”

The Spaniard highlighted another area of Federer’s game he struggled with throughout their legendary rivalry.

“He played very very aggressive, his serve was so difficult to read for me, of course he was very precise,” said Nadal.

“The Roger serve was very difficult to read because he was able to change with the [toss], it was very difficult to predict what was going on.”

Federer’s serve and ‘aggression’ proved effective during their final encounters on the ATP Tour, as he took control of his rivalry with Nadal.

The Swiss star won their 40th and final match at Wimbledon in 2019, as he battled through in four sets to advance to the final.

Rafael Nadal says Novak Djokovic’s ball control was the best he ever saw

The Spaniard compared the rivalries with his fellow ‘big three’ members, and picked one he thinks fans consider to be ‘more attractive’ than the other.

“The rivalry with Roger was a little bit more, I mean attractive for the fans than the Novak [Djokovic rivalry] against me, even if I play more times with Novak,” said Nadal.

“Against Novak, I think it’s a little bit different, I think against Novak it’s a little bit about, ok, we can have a strategy but at the end it’s about, I need to play very well all the time.

“It’s not a clear strategy, against Roger I’m going to damage him with his backhand, against Novak I don’t have that feeling, the feeling is I need to play very well for a long time and know that I have to adjust things.

“I can’t play too many times against his backhand, especially high balls because then he takes the ball quicker and puts you in a very difficult position, so I started using the slice more against him, and sometimes played to the middle, don’t give him a lot of angles.”

Nadal then described the area of Djokovic’s game that was the best he’d ever seen.

“With Novak when you’re able to open him, if you don’t really create a lot of damage he was able to open you more,” he said.

“In terms of ball control, he’s the best I ever played and I ever saw.”

Nadal narrowly lost the head-to-head with Djokovic, 29-31, losing their final match at the Olympic Games in 2024.

When Nadal retired from tennis in 2024, he did so with a combined 53-47 record against Federer and Djokovic, playing 100 matches against his two greatest rivals.