A deep dive into Federer and Nadal's 50 Masters 1000 finals
On the cusp of the 2019 Coupe Rogers final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev in Montreal, the Spaniard's 50 Masters 1000 finals stand joint best with another Masters 1000 behemoth, Roger Federer.
Both Federer and Nadal triumphed in their respective 50th Masters 1000 finals; both landmarks materializing in the 2019 season. The Swiss did so against Isner for his 4th Miami title and Nadal triumphed over Djokovic for a record-extending 9th title in Rome.
Following his 1st title at Monte Carlo in 2005 over Coria, Nadal pulled level with Federer's tally of 14 Masters 1000 titles, with a win at Monte Carlo in 2009.
Nadal's 15th Masters 1000 triumph at Rome enabled the Spaniard to take the lead over Federer for the first time for most Masters 1000 titles.
At Monte Carlo in 2012, both the greats had 19 Masters 1000 titles apiece where Nadal won his 20th Masters 1000 title. Since then, Nadal has never shared or relinquished his Masters 1000 titles lead to Federer.
Following Rome in 2019, both Nadal and Federer had a staggering 50 Masters 1000 final appearances apiece. However, the Spaniard (34 titles; 68%) has a better success% compared with his Swiss rival (28 titles; 56%).
A large majority of Federer's 28 Masters 1000 titles have come on hardcourt (22) which is a record for most Masters 1000 triumphs on the surface.
12 of Federer's 22 Masters 1000 defeats have come on hardcourt though.
Federer's 28 Masters 1000 titles have come against 18 different players. Nadal is the Swiss' favorite final opponent (5) followed by Djokovic (3) and the quartet of Roddick, Blake, Gasquet, and Isner (2 apiece) while 12 other players have accounted for Federer's as many Masters 1000 titles.
However, Nadal has also inflicted the most pain on Federer in a Masters 1000 final, beating the Swiss 7 times followed closely by Djokovic (5). Murray has beaten Federer twice and 8 other players have a win apiece against Federer in a Masters 1000 final.
Nadal's 34 Masters 1000 titles have come against 20 different opponents, with Federer being at the receiving end most times (7), followed closely by Djokovic (6). The Spaniard has two victories apiece against Coria, Ferrer, and Nishikori and has triumphed once against 15 other players in a Masters 1000 final.
An overwhelming 25 of Nadal's 34 Masters 1000 titles have come on clay which is a record for most Masters 1000 triumphs on the surface. The Spaniard's 11 Monte Carlo titles is also a record for most titles at a single Masters 1000 tournament.
Like Federer, most of Nadal's 16 Masters 1000 final defeats have come on hardcourt (9).
The Spaniard has been beaten in a Masters 1000 final by only 5 players. Djokovic (7) and Federer (5) account for more than half of Nadal's 16 Masters 1000 final defeats. Davydenko is the only other player to beat the Spaniard twice in a Masters 1000 final. Nalbandian and Murray have one Masters 1000 title apiece at the expense of Nadal.
Federer is the last player to beat Nadal in a Masters 1000 final (2017 Shanghai). Since then the Spaniard has not lost in 4 Masters 1000 finals.