Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will be facing each other for the 38th time in their careers and for the fourth time already this season when they battle for the Shanghai title on Sunday.
Our champ is appearing in an ATP World Tour-best ninth final of the season (6-3) and the 111th in his career (75-35).
Date: 15 October 2017
Match time: 4.30 PM local time / 4.30 AM EDT – New York, Montreal / 9.30 AM BST – United Kingdom / 10.30 AM CEST – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 7.30 PM AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
According to ATP World Tour, Federer is seeking a second Shanghai crown (2014), whileRafa is vying for his first, having previously finished runner-up in 2009. A victory will almost guarantee that Rafa closes the year with the No. 1 ATP Ranking for the fourth time, as he would own a 2,760-point lead over Federer.
Rafa leads the overall head-to-head series 23-13. Our champ is 14-9 in final meetings and owns a 12-6 advantage in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (7-4 in finals). It is their first encounter on Asian soil since the 2007 ATP Finals, when the tournament was held in Shanghai. Federer took a straight-set semi-final clash.
Here are all the matches they have played against each other:
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | F | Roger Federer |
63 64 |
| 2017 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Roger Federer |
62 63 |
| 2017 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | F | Roger Federer |
64 36 61 36 63 |
| 2015 | Basel Switzerland |
Indoor Hard | F | Roger Federer |
63 57 63 |
| 2014 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal |
764 63 63 |
| 2013 | ATP Finals Great Britain |
Indoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal |
75 63 |
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati OH, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal |
57 64 63 |
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Italy |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
61 63 |
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal |
64 62 |
| 2012 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Roger Federer |
63 64 |
| 2012 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal |
675 62 765 64 |
| 2011 | ATP Finals Great Britain |
Indoor Hard | RR | Roger Federer |
63 60 |
| 2011 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
75 763 57 61 |
| 2011 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Spain |
Outdoor Clay | SF | Rafael Nadal |
57 61 63 |
| 2011 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal |
63 62 |
| 2010 | ATP Finals Great Britain |
Indoor Hard | F | Roger Federer |
63 36 61 |
| 2010 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Spain |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
64 765 |
| 2009 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Spain |
Outdoor Clay | F | Roger Federer |
64 64 |
| 2009 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | F | Rafael Nadal |
75 36 763 36 62 |
| 2008 | Wimbledon Great Britain |
Outdoor Grass | F | Rafael Nadal |
64 64 675 678 97 |
| 2008 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
61 63 60 |
| 2008 | ATP Masters Series Hamburg Germany |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
75 673 63 |
| 2008 | ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Monaco |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
75 75 |
| 2007 | Tennis Masters Cup China |
Indoor Hard | SF | Roger Federer |
64 61 |
| 2007 | Wimbledon Great Britain |
Outdoor Grass | F | Roger Federer |
767 46 763 26 62 |
| 2007 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
63 46 63 64 |
| 2007 | ATP Masters Series Hamburg Germany |
Outdoor Clay | F | Roger Federer |
26 62 60 |
| 2007 | ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Monaco |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
64 64 |
| 2006 | Tennis Masters Cup China |
Indoor Hard | SF | Roger Federer |
64 75 |
| 2006 | Wimbledon Great Britain |
Outdoor Grass | F | Roger Federer |
60 765 672 63 |
| 2006 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
16 61 64 764 |
| 2006 | ATP Masters Series Rome Italy |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
670 765 64 26 765 |
| 2006 | ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Monaco |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal |
62 672 63 765 |
| 2006 | Dubai U.A.E. |
Outdoor Hard | F | Rafael Nadal |
26 64 64 |
| 2005 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | SF | Rafael Nadal |
63 46 64 63 |
| 2005 | ATP Masters Series Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | F | Roger Federer |
26 674 765 63 61 |
| 2004 | ATP Masters Series Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R32 | Rafael Nadal |
63 63 |
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Roof closed. Blistering start by Fed. Rafa keep calm and battle on!
Did rafa have that bandage on his knee yesterday? I dont think so. Anyone know what is wrong or is it juat a precaution? Bloody hell – roger has just broken rafa but its early days
No Susie. Haven’t seen that tape like forever. I’m so worried now. Can’t really concentrate on the match. Rafa’s only surviving on his serve. Fed taking all the charges. That tape definitely sent an unwanted message.
I agree rainier. But rafa is rafa and im sure he will work something out. It will be awful if roger beats him again
All the best,Rafael👊💪👏confident and tough🙂
Oh no Rafa has tape on his knee. I wondered yesterday if there was a problem, when he was hitting his leg with his racquet, if there was a problem. Hopefully the tape is just a precaution.
Why the hell their is a tape on Rafa’s knees? O god no way
I’m generally not excited anymore about the prospect of a Fedal match (unless they’re on the same side of the net 🙂 ), but during Roger v Delpo yesterday there was a moment when I hoped that Roger won so Rafa could have a chance to play him – and win. Rafa has been in stunning form lately and although I’m a little concerned about him being tired, this has to be his best opportunity to get a win over Fed this year. Last week might have been even better – I feel that maybe Rafa is past the peak of this particular winning streak and Fed may be approaching one, but hopefully the occasion will help Rafa to find that extra something. Vamos Rafa!!
Jas_uk – very well said as that is exactly how i feel. Best of luck to rafa for today.
I have turned into a cellphone. Vibrating every now and then! O god😥
Lol, Navdeep. Are you really ‘vibrating’ that early? :p
Not that I’m in any position to judge you. I’ve been swirling in my mind since Rafa won his match, playing imaginary matches besides watching the replay/highlights, studying the stats and stuff. ☺️
Their is just no end to it man! I feel like this match is going to be huge
It’s huge already. Fedal matches have always had that “aura” even though it’s true they don’t always play their best against each other. Of course when they do, we always have a classic.
Here’s hoping for another classic. 🙂
Fed on playing Rafa on fast court:
‘Margins are small. On fast courts it’s always, like I explained before about the break points, it’s got to sort of match up, you know, with — is Juan Martin going to serve so well on the big point that you can maybe almost do nothing about, or is he going to use the combo of the serve and forehands so perfectly that you just almost cannot come through, you know, even if you create so many chances.
And maybe tomorrow is the same thing. There is only going to be a few chances for either player, and sometimes it’s just who blinks, you know, at the wrong time. So it makes it always a close match on faster courts. But for me it’s good.
You know, the slice stays lower. I naturally play on the baseline. Maybe Rafa doesn’t have that many opportunities to go way, way back to return, even though he can also do it on hard courts and he’s the best ever to return from way back there.
So he almost has to play up on the baseline, but he’s been doing that almost perfectly here this week, you know. He’s maybe even surprised some of his opponents to play this good on the baseline and outplayed those guys.
So, I mean, look, he’s a great player on hard courts. On fast, as well. He wouldn’t have won Wimbledon otherwise. It’s going to be a tough one for me. I mean, I hope, of course, the service might help me a little bit.”
My summary before the final.
So far, Fed has been serving extremely well in this tourney, one of his best serving performances no doubt. Not many aces by his standards or super fast, but its effectiveness is still as good as ever. In other words, he serves smartly.
On average:
1st serve in: 74% = Rafa
1st serve won: 79% = Rafa
2nd serve won: 64% Rafa 73%
Serve points won: 74% Rafa 77%
Serve games won: 94% Rafa 96%
Coincidently Rafa’s stats on serve are identical to Fed’s, except Rafa has outperformed him considerably at 2nd serve won at 73%. That number is simply RIDICULOUS. It’s higher than his average stats this clay season and just below that at RG.
Of course those stats had much to do with their opponents. Schwartzman and Gasquet are great/good returners on Fed’s path and on Rafa’s, Fognini and Dimitrov. Pretty even I would say.
That and the fact that Rafa is a better returner with slightly or more slightly better ground game overall (their career and also YTD stats all point to this) mean Rafa should be tougher to break and have more chances to break Fed.
Rafa used to be able to read Fed’s serve extremely well, maybe the best or ~ with Murray. He wasn’t this year. So this is the key for this match IMO. He *can* return Fed’s serve well and once he does that, all the cogwheels should mesh and run as smoothly, especially the mental “cogwheel”. 🙂
Now on return. Despite only winning 2% more on return points (43% and 41%), Rafa has won 13% return games more than Fed, at 38% and 25% respectively. T
This happened because despite not being very clutch on BP, his BP conversion is still slightly better (38% and 33%). He’s also a bit better at saving BP, at 78% (7/9) compared to Fed’s 70% (7/10).
In total, Rafa has won 59% of the points and 67% of the games. Fed 55% and 59%
Except for the ace/DF and winner count, Rafa has been outperforming Fed in every aspect at this tournament.
Rainier is it Rafa in three?
Yes, Amberoxx. Rafa in 3. But if Fed blinks and Rafa doesn’t, or vice versa, it can be a runaway 2setter, which is a shame considering both are playing well and should give each other a tough run for their money.
Stats and form all points to Rafa. But hehas shown signs of nerves and tireness in the SF and even the QF. So before those matches I had been more confident. Less so now. But I still “bullieve”. 🙂
But Fed’s mentality at Shanghai (and during the whole year) is more impressive IMO. He simply has that belief and calmness almost more than ever. Some frustrating moments here and there are of course unavoidable. But the point is I don’t think Rafa will the be stronger player mentally in this match.
All in all I expect both players to continue serving well in the final. Of course due to the quality of both finalists and the fact that they has known each other inside out for years, they’re gonna have to raise their levels considerably for this match IMO. Serving well of course is a start, but will not be enough in this case.
Who blinks first will have to pay IMO. Rafa tends to blink more these days. That he should avoid first and foremost, not to fear Fed’s BH or any hand because there’s nothing to fear except maybe his serve, before Rafa can read it well.
Fed’s neoBH has shown signs of coming back to life in this event first time since Miami, but it’s still quite erratic and simply not the version at IW and Miami.
His FH is still the same or even less effective than in recent years, mostly due to the decline in his movement and the bigger racquet frame with even looser string tension.
Still, it’s a smart decision to adapt with the modern game of power and more powers. Now only Rafa starts exploiting those, his FH and movement, especially his FH on the run, not just relying on pummelling his FH to his BH.
Rafa,you can do it and you SHOULD DO IT.It’s so important to do it this time!It will boost your confidence for the rest of the season and AO 2018.
Please, serve well,stay focused all the time. You can’t afford losing concentrate against Roger for a second. Stay calm as you can and believe. Remember who you are! Don’t be predictable, mixed up and please don’t stay “miles” behind service line. That’s make your return short ,week and predictable…Roger will kill you if you do that. Play very aggressive, coming to net.Play smart,please. It’s a mental game after all. Again stay close to base line and flattening your shots,move him around, put him under constant pressure, don’t give him any rhythm.
I believe you can do it if you stay strong mentality and play smart.Vamos.
Hi Bis. About Rafa standing way behind the baseline, Fed said this in his PM presser (full quote somewhere above):
“Maybe Rafa doesn’t have that many opportunities to go way, way back to return, even though he can also do it on hard courts and he’s the best ever to return from way back there.
So he almost has to play up on the baseline, but he’s been doing that almost perfectly here this week, you know. He’s maybe even surprised some of his opponents to play this good on the baseline and outplayed those guys.”
I have no doubt he will exploit Rafa’s return position. Now this is a bit complicated. I think Rafa will keep returning serve from the first row and may or may not stand closer to the BL to return 2nd serve (Toni has persuaded for years but he’s never committed enough on this). But he will try his best to position himself favourably during rallies like he’s been doing these season when he’s playing well.
That said, Fed is the smartest server on tour with his precise placement and excellent disguise. So it will come down to how Rafa can read his serve well more than his ROS position IMO.
The first 2 shots, he needs to try his best to neutralise those from Fed. Then he will be likely to dominate the rallies with the right tactics.
Without those first 2-3 shots, historically Fed is be vulnerable against great returners/defenders.
Rafa’s BH has stood the test again Delpo’s Thorhand. It will stand the test against Fed’s goat but declined FH as it has always done.
Signs of nerves from Rafa in the QF and SF when he started to run around his FH more than recently but quite often didn’t hit it effectively enough and let his opponent exploit it by hitting to the open court to either win the point or make him hit a scrappy FH on the run.
So in short (or not too short), I hope Rafa will:
– Trust his trustworthy BH more and more. Work the angle (he didn’t do that enough in the QF and SF)
– Continue to serve well. Placement and variation are the key. He’s tired already and his serve speed dropped a lot in the SF. So he must serve smart.
– Flatten out his shots off both wings. No mid court short balls or loopy balls that landed on the service boxes, especially on the ad court which Cilic exploited ruthlessly today with so many easy winners off those. Fed no doubt will be even more ruthless.
– Not give Fed any rhythm; avoid hitting continuously to Fed’s BH without varying pace and spin and placement.
– Extremely important: commit to changing direction relentlessly. Run Fed around as much as he can. He didn’t do that well enough today against Cilic. Was much better against Dimitrov and Kyrgios.
– Go to the net much more. For the love of the game and all of us fans, please do this, Rafa.
– And of course, hold his nerves well. By form, he should be able to beat Fed now even on this court, roof closed or not (95% it will be closed). Only fatigue and nerves could betray him IMO. His form shouldn’t.
It will be very interesting to see how Rafa changes his tactics in this match compared to their previous meetings this year. Moya said in an interview after the USO that they needed to do something about that (Rafa losing to Fed) so I think they certainly have been working on it for a while.
Personally, as much as I would love Rafa to win this, I won’t be unhappy if he plays very well but still lose, because that means he know he didn’t let himself down, and that he can still “improve” (his life motto :p) and be motivated. And more importantly, as long as he stays healthy, he will aways have a chance at anything.
That said, I believe, unless Rafa is too tired, he will prevail this time. Much has changed since Miami. Rafa has improved considerably and proved himself over and over again. He will come to play.
Sorry for the lengthy comments (again).
Hope to see many of you here during the match. Good night or good morning, everyone. 🙂
Vamos!
Wonderfully put!!!
Many thanks, Amberoxx. Still many things were left out. But this is too much already I guess for a comment section. :p
Best wishes, Rafa. Into yet another final. Congratulations on your 16 win streak. So amazing!
Rafa just won a title a week ago.
My only concern is although Rafa has played tons of amazing tennis, this is Roger’s 1st tournament in a long time. Much lighter schedule for Roger. Roger always seems to know when to swoop in at the right time. Rafa has already exceeded my wildest expectations for 2017.
Vamos, Rafa!
Very Best of Luck to you tomorrow,Rafa.You Will Do It.VAMOS.
Rafa is playing amazingly. Cilic played out of his skin and still couldn’t overcome our champ,Rafa. In the final, he MUST serve brilliantly and not allow Roger to boss the points by rushing him. I’m hoping for dry weather and an open roof. It’s your turn to be the victor Rafa!
Rafa good luck tomorrow ,you have to bit Roger this time ,you are playing amaizing tennis all this week .vamossssssssssssssssss champ love your fans for ever.🎾🎾🎾👍👍👍🇺🇸❤️🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
A confident Rafa is unbeatable in any surface. Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!
I think we all agree that a 0-4 for the season absolutely must not happen!
Buena suerte mi Rafa vamos a ganar VAMOS RAFA por el titulo
It is 23-14, not 13…
Good luck, champ. You can do it!!! Vamos Rafa <3
VAMOS SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) ENJOY THE EASIER MATCH…….AND KEEP SMILING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) OH YEH…….YOU ARE SO BLESSED…..IT WILL BE A FANTASTIC FUN FOR YOU : ) : ) : ) : ) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) LOTS OF LOVE & HAPPINESS DEAR RAFA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) IT WILL BE A GREAT MATCH FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) GO RAFA GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) WE LOVE YOU DEAR RAFA NADAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) XOXOXOXOXOXO ENJOY EVERY POINT & KEEP KNOWING WI……..WI……..WI……ALL YOUR DEVOTED TENNIS FANS EVERYWHERE WILL ENJOY LIVE EVERYTHING WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) Have a beautiful evening & VAMOS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
Vamos Rafa
As much as I Iove Rafa, and today I did get up at 4.30 am to watch the semis, I am not doing it again, It is mortal! gl will know during day results!