Posted on Dec 10, 2019 2021 at 8:35
About the. It is a mythical rivalry in the world of sport. It even gave birth to a name: “Fedal”, resulting from the contraction of Federer and Nadal. A book, which is the title, goes into detail on the 40 confrontations between these two tennis legends, co-holders with Novak Djokovic of the record for the number of Grand Slam titles (20 each).
Each chapter corresponds to a meeting. The authors set the scene, detail the course of the game, analyze the result. Their first match dates back to March 2004 at the Miami tournament, in the round of 16. The youngest, Nadal (aged 17), wins the game, already asserting himself as Switzerland’s best enemy.
39 confrontations ensued – the Spaniard leads by 25 to 15 -, with epic duels. Like the Wimbledon final in 2008, when Nadal won his first title on English turf, his opponent’s favorite surface, described at the time as “the best match of all time” by John McEnroe.
Or this other final, at the Australian Open in 2017, with a victory in five sets by Federer, in a match of mad intensity which made the winner say: “tennis is difficult, there is no no draw, but if it had existed, I would have been happy to share the victory with Rafa ”.
Interest. Of course, you have to know (a little) tennis. And don’t be allergic to Nadal or Federer. But all sports fans should be ecstatic when reading these legendary matches. Despite the results known in advance, we remain in fact caught up in the suspense, well maintained by the authors, two journalists specializing in tennis.
The work also illustrates the end of a blessed era. At 40 and 35 respectively, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal no longer run tournaments. Their last meeting dates back to July 2019 at Wimbledon. Will there be one 41e ? Nothing is less sure. So you might as well take advantage of this tasty journey through time.
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