Rafael Nadal has always shown humility with respect to his opponents off the court despite his fierceness on it. The Spaniard's grounded attitude came to the fore at Indian Wells 11 years ago, after he downed his arch-rival Roger Federer in straight sets.
Federer was considered by the majority of fans to be the greatest male player of all time in the late 2000s, having spent a record 237 consecutive weeks as the World No. 1. However, the Swiss maestro soon found tough resistance from Nadal, whose lefty topspin forehand gave him a match-up advantage.
The Spaniard would beat his rival in the final of the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon, leading many to believe that he was a deserving candidate to Roger Federer's throne. He started dominating the Swiss more and more by the time the 2010s rolled, owing both to the former reaching his prime and the latter entering his 30s.
By the time they met in the 2013 Indian Wells Masters quarterfinals, Rafael Nadal had beaten Roger Federer in 18 of their 28 clashes on the ATP tour. He would go on to improve his lead to 19-10, defeating Federer 6-4, 6-2 in just under an hour and a half.
Speaking to the media following his victory, a journalist asked Nadal whether he took much stock of his positive head-to-head record against the Swiss. The then-26-year-old replied in the negative, maintaining that Federer was still a better player as he held more Major titles.
"That just a fact at the end. Is a positive fact for me, but that doesn't change that he has much more tournament victories than me," the Spaniard said about his positive head-to-head record against Roger Federer. "He has more Grand Slams than me. In Masters 1000s we are close. I don't know."
"So that means his career the day of today is better than my one, and that's the real thing," he added. "And if I think that I am better than him because I beat him I think 19 against 10, something like this, I will be very stupid and very arrogant. I think this is not the case."
Rafael Nadal leads Roger Federer 24-16 in their head-to-head meetings on the ATP tour
Rafael Nadal went on to beat Roger Federer in 24 of their 40 encounters. The highlights of their rivalry include five-set battles in the 2007 Wimbledon final, the 2008 Wimbledon final, the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2017 Australian Open final.
But while some of their greatest matches came on hardcourts and grass, the early phase of the two players' rivalry saw them face off on clay much more. Nadal denied Federer in nine clay court finals, which included their matches at Roland Garros between 2005-08 and in 2011. Overall, he leads the Swiss by a whopping margin of 14-2 on dirt.
Federer was able to hold his own on hardcourts though, coming out on top in 11 of their 20 meetings on the surface. He also dominated Nadal on grass, taking 3 of their 4 matches at Wimbledon.
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