“I don’t think clay has been my problem, my problem has been Rafael Nadal on clay" - When Roger Federer acknowledged Spaniard's greatness on red dirt
Before the 2009 French Open began Rafael Nadal had already established himself as Roger Federer's biggest challenger, with wins against him on all surfaces. Apart from defeating the Swiss legend at the French Open for four consecutive years, the Spaniard also ended Federer's incredible 65-match winning streak on grass when he beat him 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in the 2008 Wimbledon final.
Nadal also beat his biggest rival, in another five-set thriller, in the final of the 2009 Australian Open.
Right before the French Open in 2009, Federer snapped Nadal's 33-match winning streak on clay by beating him 6-4, 6-4 in the Madrid Masters final. In an interview ahead of his campaign at Roland Garros that year, the Swiss remarked that he always believed in his chances against Nadal.
“It’s not like a relief. I was so close to him at Melbourne and Wimbledon," Federer said. "But I always kept the belief that I could beat him again. That’s what you need on this kind of surface. I stayed positive.”
Federer also suggested that he was better than the numbers showed on clay, and that things would have been different if not for Nadal's scarcely believable dominance on the surface.
“I don’t think the clay has been my problem. My problem has been Rafa on clay. That’s a big difference,” Federer said. “I grew up on clay and have played well on clay a lot – if you look at my record of the last few years. If he hadn’t been there, we would be talking differently today.”
In the fourth round of the 2009 French Open, Rafael Nadal faced his first-ever defeat in the tournament, going down to Robin Soderling. Roger Federer, on the other hand, went on to win the title for the first time and complete the Career Grand Slam.
Looking back at the Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer rivalry
Despite being each other's biggest rivals for nearly two decades, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer managed to maintain a great friendship.
A fierce rivalry that started in 2004 ended 40 matches later at the 2019 Wimbledon, where Federer beat the Spaniard in the semi-finals. The head-to-head between the two players finished 24-16 in favor of Nadal.
In Grand Slam clashes, the 36-year-old led 10-4. He also won 14 out of their 16 matches on clay, with a 6-0 record at the French Open and 3-1 in Melbourne.
The Swiss, however, had the upper hand at Wimbledon (3-1). They never met each other at the US Open.