Editing Roger Federer (section)

===Rafael Nadal===
{{Main|Federer–Nadal rivalry}}
[[File:Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.jpg|thumb|Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon's Centre Court]]
Federer and [[Rafael Nadal]] played each other 40 times, with Nadal winning 24 of their matches and Federer winning 16. Federer performed better than Nadal on grass (winning three matches to Nadal's one) and on hard courts (winning 11 matches to Nadal's nine), while Nadal dominated the matchup on clay (winning 14 matches to Federer's two).<ref>{{cite web|title=Roger Federer VS Rafael Nadal|url=http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/fedex-head-2-head/roger-federer-vs-rafael-nadal/F324/N409|publisher=ATP World Tour|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-date=28 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128020222/http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/fedex-head-2-head/roger-federer-vs-rafael-nadal/F324/N409|url-status=live}}</ref> Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 24 of their matches were in tournament finals, included an all-time record nine major finals (tied with [[Djokovic–Nadal rivalry|Djokovic–Nadal]] matches).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/Rivalries/Nadal-Federer-Rivalry.aspx|title=Rafa & Roger: The Rivalry|date=29 January 2009|publisher=ATP World Tour|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-date=31 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831151121/http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/Rivalries/Nadal-Federer-Rivalry.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> Federer and Nadal played each other from 2004 to 2019, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.<ref>{{cite news|first=Howard|last=Fendrich|title=Federer-Nadal rivalry as good as it gets|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/wire?section=tennis&id=3476650|publisher=ESPN|agency=Associated Press|date=7 July 2008|access-date=4 December 2014|archive-date=28 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328233040/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=tennis&id=3476650|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Weaver|title=Move over McEnroe and Borg, this one will run and run in the memory|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/07/wimbledon.tennis4|work=The Guardian|date=7 July 2008|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-date=11 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611091337/http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jul/07/wimbledon.tennis4|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first = Martin|last = Flanagan|title = Federer v Nadal as good as sport gets|work = The Age|location = Melbourne|url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/tennis/federer-v-nadal-as-good-as-sport-gets/2008/07/11/1215658132528.html|date = 12 July 2008|access-date = 14 February 2009|archive-date = 4 February 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090204175302/http://www.theage.com.au/news/tennis/federer-v-nadal-as-good-as-sport-gets/2008/07/11/1215658132528.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2009/01/tj.html|title=Rivalry!|last=Bodo|first=Peter|date=30 January 2009|work=Peter Bodo's Tennisworld|publisher=Tennis.com|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-date=22 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522083352/https://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2009/01/tj.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=macgregor/090203&sportCat=tennis|title=Greatest rivalry of the 21st century?|last=MacGregor|first=Jeff|date=3 February 2009|publisher=ESPN|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212160857/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=macgregor%2F090203&sportCat=tennis|url-status=live}}</ref> The last encounter was at the [[2019 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|2019 Wimbledon Championships]], where Federer won to reach the final.

Federer and Nadal held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 17 August 2009, when Nadal fell to No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2),<ref>{{cite news|first = Richard|last = Jago|title = Andy Murray reaches world No2 rank after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga|date = 15 August 2009|url = https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/aug/15/andy-murray-montreal-masters-jo-wilfried-tsonga|work = The Guardian|access-date = 16 August 2010|archive-date = 14 July 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130714043301/http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/aug/15/andy-murray-montreal-masters-jo-wilfried-tsonga|url-status = live}}</ref> and again from 11 September 2017 until 15 October 2018 (Novak Djokovic became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished six consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked No. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held it for 160 consecutive weeks, before surpassing Federer in August 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25978842/|title=It's official: Nadal will pass Federer for No. 1|date=1 August 2008|publisher=NBC Sports (Associated Press)|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019231656/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25978842/|archive-date=19 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

From 2006 to 2008, Federer and Nadal played each other in every French Open final and every Wimbledon final. They then met in the [[2009 Australian Open]] final, the [[2011 French Open]] final and the [[2017 Australian Open]] final. Nadal won six of the nine, losing the first two Wimbledon finals and the second Australian Open final. Four of these finals were five-set matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 and 2017 Australian Open), with the 2008 Wimbledon final being lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.<ref>{{cite news|first=Bruce|last=Jenkins|title=The Greatest Match Ever|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/06/SPP711KSLR.DTL|date=7 July 2008|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-date=4 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304234833/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2008%2F07%2F06%2FSPP711KSLR.DTL|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first = Richard|last = Alleyne|title = Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever|work = The Daily Telegraph|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/2305019/Wimbledon-2008-John-McEnroe-hails-Rafael-Nadal-victory-as-greatest-final-ever.html|date = 7 July 2008|access-date = 14 February 2009|archive-date = 14 June 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180614015626/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/2305019/Wimbledon-2008-John-McEnroe-hails-Rafael-Nadal-victory-as-greatest-final-ever.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/07/09/wertheim.mailbag/index.html|title=Without a doubt, it's the greatest|last=Wertheim|first=Jon|date=9 July 2008|work=Tennis Mailbag|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-date=13 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813175621/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/07/09/wertheim.mailbag/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2008/07/w-report-cards.html|title=W: Report Cards|last=Tignor|first=Steve|work=Concrete Elbow|publisher=Tennis.com|date=8 July 2008|access-date=14 February 2009|archive-date=19 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819130701/http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2008/07/w-report-cards.html|url-status=live}}</ref>