Rafael Nadal v Roger Federer Extended Highlights | Australian Open 2014 Semifinal

[@jbm8167]

The last match of prime Nadal on hard courts. Was never the same after the injury that came after this. But AO 09 will always be the stuff of legend (and AO 22)

[@matthewwilliams3827]

I’ve seen a few people say 2015 was his worst year

[@suchetdas5392]

Yeah 2015 was a bad year, so was 2024..i think 2024 is his worst..

[@suchetdas5392]

True.. Djokovic is the best on hard courts no question but Nadal on a good day was the only person who could defeat Djokovic at his peak till 2013 but after 2014 he slowed down significantly mainly in lateral movement that allowed him less time to defend Federer's and Djokovic's cross court backhands... The speed and mobility of prime Nadal allowed him to take an additional step towards his forehand or backhand and make good returns of anything his opponent threw at him.. That was missing during his second peak from 2017 to 22.. Imho Djokovic has probably cemented his status as the GOAT but Nadal will always be my personal favourite because he was able to overcome a career threatening congenital defect in his ankle bone and still win so much.. He did not pick up this injury due to his style of play he was born with a disability and yet he is the second most successful male tennis player of all time.. What a guy!

[@dann_03col56]

Not the only one. Wawrinka would also defeat Djokovic

[@ch_sage6paths756]

And ao2012😭😂😂

[@Rampy]

The injury in the final was so unlucky, this was one of this greatest tournaments in terms of level pre that. From Indian Wells 2013 to AO 2014 Final was probably the best Nadal has ever played on Hard Courts. He may have won just as many slams on hard courts between 2017-2022, but the standard was not as good as it was here

[@Luchon20082010]

He sucked in the final insanely big This was by far his best match in the tournament

[@Romans8-9]

@@Luchon20082010 He threw his back out in the 2nd set and started serving at like 70% normal speed.

[@tlefevre2918]

@@Romans8-9 It happened in the warm up for the match, it just got worse as the match went on

[@Romans8-9]

@@tlefevre2918 Right but I believe the MTO happened in the 2nd set, there was a huge delay and when he came back his service speed dropped substantially.

[@tlefevre2918]

@ yeah because it got worse then, he got worse throughout the match

[@jbm8167]

For what it’s worth I think Federer tried a lot of the stuff here that worked brilliantly in the 2017 final. Big backhands when he had the time, constant engagement at the net etc. But he had 3 problems - the court was not as fast at all, Nadal himself was much quicker so he could defend better, and Nadal’s forehand was still a brutal weapon with so much depth and ability to handle pace. So you get points like the one at 2:05 or 5:48 or 8:46 instead

[@masters.1000]

He wasn't going for it like in 2017, played too far behind the baseline. It was his second tournament with the new racket so he didn't figured out exactly what he needed.

[@jaranis9273]

Add 10:50 to that, took the ball so early only to be attacked by nadal

[@lalasingh3443]

Yeah, but Federer is years 5 older than Nadal. Age made both of them trash. So whatever Federer did was magical as he was older. I'm a Djokovic Fan but you get my point. 1) Djokovic (All Time) 2) Nadal 3)Federer/ Sampras.

[@nikosofidemporas]

​@@lalasingh3443You can put Novak 1st but Federer is above Nadal. Only significant thing that Rafa has over Roger is 2 more GS titles and that is due to the complete dominance of the Roland Garros he had.

[@David_james77]

@@nikosofidemporasyou clearly know little to nothing about tennis. Nadal leads Federer in h2h by a wide margin. And let’s not even talk about GS h2h cause he leads both Federer (10-4) and Djokovic (11-7) in that regard. He is not just a clay courter. He leads Djokovic in the h2h at USO and Federer in AO, and a pure domination at the FO on both.

[@RegiNC]

Class meets power

[@dr.abdullahghazal4634]

Nadal after AO2014 final isn’t same nadal that injury impacted him mentally so much.

[@pikeflowed]

Astonishing play and match with both playing great but Rafa just finding that God Mode level, such a genuine thrill to witness. But do you know what i love most ? When they meet at the net when the match is over and look each other in the eye ; the quiet words, the deep respect. Two gladiators respecting each other and their unique gifts and abilities. Its enough to bring a tear to my eye.

[@masonmatias125]

The passing shots from Nadal here are actually mind-blowing. Not supposed to be possible.

[@ninjawarriorthesavage381]

🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal & 🇨🇭Roger Federer is a national treasure of tennis & hall of fame of tennis!!! Cheers!!! 🐐👑💎🎾🎾

[@ninjawarriorthesavage381]

🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal & 🇨🇭Roger Federer is my favorite tennis player of all time 100% indeed!!! Cheers!!! 🐐👑💎🎾🎾

[@LibyaElectricalengineerformata]

Wow nice play

[@MK11DuyNguyen]

Federer’s backhand is a masterpiece

[@Rory626]

3:42 rare Roger grunt on a groundstroke

[@alohayoutube]

GOAT

[@Ibrahims14]

Even if this was a recoded match, I get nervese when Federer loses a point. 😅

[@esbergenaidos5050]

Thank you Rafa😢

[@cagedfighterwildlife1484]

Nadal is the GOAT ❤

[@edisonsubandi7231]

He still won 1 set with injury that Nadal mentality.

[@LibyaElectricalengineerformata]

❤❤

[@masters.1000]

Federer was so trash that day.

[@vijayla21]

He was trash for the whole 2008-2014 against Nadal. Nadal basically owned him in this period, only a few mickey mouse bo3s losses.

[@lalasingh3443]

Federer is years 5 older than Nadal. Age made both of them trash. So whatever Federer did was magical as he was older. I'm a Djokovic Fan but you get my point. 1) Djokovic (All Time) 2) Nadal 3)Federer/ Sampras

[@rorschach3005]

Its far more nuanced than that . Fed being 5 years older than Nadal/Djokovic is so different from Djokovic being older than Medvedev. The courts have remained fairly the same since 2008 and the game has evolved into a baseline slug fest, including grass. Thats what made Tennis so much more TV friendly in the first place compared to the likes of 3 shot serve and volley fest. Fed developed his game for a different era all together and as a testament to his greatness survived the next 12 years past his comfort zone. He had terrible years from 2011 to 16 just because he found it so difficult to keep having the baseline battles with murray/nadal and djokovic. If you see this game, Fed was forcing himself to the net because just couldnt keep up with Nadal in the baseline rally with that single handed back hand. Fed was reluctant to move to a modern larger racket head racket and used the old school twig which was just more prone to errors given the rallies. He shifted to a much bigger racket in 2016, changed his mindset a bit and you have him dominating from 17-19, till his body gave up. When you say it wasnt Nadals peak, its not way off his peak either, given he won multiple grandslams after. Fed is the greatest player by far although in terms of success the others have overshadowed him.