Roger Federer won 16 of his 40 singles matches against Rafael Nadal. Their rivalry began at the 2004 Miami Open and continued until Federer’s victory over Nadal in the 2019 Wimbledon semifinal.
Nadal leads the overall head-to-head 24–16, largely because of his extraordinary dominance on clay. He defeated Federer 14 times on clay, including six French Open victories, while Federer won only twice against him on that surface.
Federer had the advantage on faster courts. He led Nadal 11–9 on hard courts and 3–1 on grass, including three Wimbledon wins. They met in 24 finals and played nine Grand Slam finals, a record number for a men’s rivalry at the time.
A common mix-up is confusing the singles record with their doubles meetings. The quiz’s figure refers to singles matches, the standard head-to-head statistic. Together, Federer and Nadal helped define tennis’s greatest era, winning numerous major titles while regularly occupying the top two places in the rankings.