Why is Nadal better than Federer?
If we break down the overall scenario, Nadal and Federer have played 20 matches against each other on hard court, 16 on clay, and 4 on grass. Nadal is the leader when it comes to clay (14-2) and outdoor hard court (8-6), while Federer leads on grass (3-1) and indoor hard court (5-1).
Nadal leads on clay (14–2) and outdoor hard court (8–6), while Federer leads on grass (3–1) and indoor hard court (5–1). A total of 14 matches were in majors with Nadal leading 10–4. Nadal leads 6–0 at the French Open and 3–1 at the Australian Open, while Federer leads 3–1 at Wimbledon.
In terms of big titles – a trophy at a grand slam championship, the Nitto ATP Finals, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament or an Olympic singles gold medal – Djokovic leads the way with 65 after his triumph at the 2022 ATP Finals. Nadal has 59 while Federer has 54.
Comment: Why Nadal is the GOAT. Is Rafael Nadal the greatest of all time (GOAT)? He's got the numbers. With 22 men's Grand Slam titles, the Spaniard has won two more than his nearest rivals for the mantle of the greatest player — Roger Federer of Switzerland and Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
1. Serena Williams. Arguably the all-time GOAT, Serena Williams currently holds 23 grand slam titles, second only to the great Margaret Court. Serena has shone both on the singles and doubles court, winning 14 grand slam doubles titles (all of which were alongside her sister Venus).
Nadal's Records
Each of the Big 3 holds a basket of records, milestones and achievements that will ultimately put their greatness into context. Nadal's 14 French Open titles is the runaway record for most at Roland Garros and the most of any one Grand Slam. He's also the oldest man to take home the trophy in Paris.
Rafael Nadal leads the head-to-head with 24 wins while Roger Federer has won 16 matches between the two tennis legends.
Federer narrowly bests Nadal as most popular men's tennis star. Behind Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and retired American Andre Agassi each had the next highest favorability rating (69%), followed by retired Americans Pete Sampras (66%) and ESPN tennis broadcaster John McEnroe (65%) to round out the top five.
Rafael Nadal is unquestionably the greatest clay court player of all time. In fact, his dominance on clay may be the most dominant thing in any sport-ever. Of his 92 titles, 64 are on clay. Of his 22 majors, 14 are French Opens.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner has broken numerous records throughout his career, and many believe that he is the 'GOAT'. According to our readers, 57.7 per cent of people believe that Federer is 'definitely' the greatest player to ever grace the court.
Why is Nadal only good on clay?
From his upbringing, Nadal was ready for any clay tournament that came his way. The combination of playing on clay at a very young age, his endurance and agility from his physical stature, and the way he plays the game are the reasons why Rafael Nadal is dominant on clay.
1 five times. Nadal has won an all-time record 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles. He has won 92 ATP singles titles, including 36 Masters titles, with 63 of these on clay courts. Nadal is one of only two men to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles.

Only one player has achieved the holy grail of tennis – the calendar year Grand Slam. Australian Rod Laver won all four majors in the Open era – the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – in 1969, and it is a nod to this achievement that this weekend's Laver Cup has been named.
1. Roger Federer. Arguably the best tennis player of all time, Roger Federer has done it all. In a 23 year career spanning four decades, the Swiss has spent a combined 310 weeks at world no.
Roger Federer: Hard/Grass
He does not even need to break his opponents down. One shot is all it takes sometimes to end the point with a winner on the fast surfaces.
Nadal suffers from Müller-Weiss syndrome, which he was diagnosed with in 2005, the same year he won his first French Open.
Djokovic leads at 373, with Federer at 310 and Nadal at 209. McEnroe broke it down by surface, giving each man GOAT status on one. “The greatest grass court player of all time is Roger, the greatest hard court player is Novak and the greatest clay court player is Rafa,” he said.
At the ATP Masters tournaments, the trio are also the top-three title leaders; Djokovic leads with a record 38 titles, followed by Nadal with 36, and Federer with 28. Djokovic has achieved the Career Golden Masters by winning all nine active Masters tournaments, a feat he has completed twice.
Combining the Grand Slam and the non-calendar-year Grand Slam, only eight singles players on 11 occasions achieved the feat of being the reigning champion of all four majors, three men (Don Budge, Rod Laver, Novak Djokovic) and five women (Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena ...
Roger Federer is 'certainly the greatest player of all time', says tennis federation chief after retirement announcement. The Swiss player spent a record 237 consecutive weeks at No 1 in the world rankings - 77 weeks longer than the Jimmy Connors streak in the 1970s.
Who has won all 4 Grand Slams at least twice?
- Don Budge ( 1938)
- Rod Laver ( 1962 • 1969) Note: Laver is the only player ever to achieve this twice.
Sports lovers around the world are disappointed with the news of the retirement of famous tennis player Roger Federer. Federer is regarded as the most humble champion in tennis world.
Serena Williams' final match at the US Open averaged 4.6 million viewers. It was the most-watched tennis match in ESPN history. Previously, the record stood at 3.9 million viewers for the 2012 Wimbledon final, in which Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray.
Ion Tiriac is the richest tennis player of all time, with a current net worth of $1.2 billion.
All of his luxury watches I could find are Rolex because he has been a Rolex Ambassador since 2001. Also, I want to mention Federer belongs to the list of the highest-paid athletes in 2022.
Grass: fast serves and an all-court game
Federer's finesse and ability to use the speed of the ball against his opponent, makes him ideally suited to quick, technical grass court play. There's a reason Roger Federer has eight Wimbledon titles but only one French Open.
Unlike Nadal, who wears his Richard Mille watch while playing, Federer's Rolex only appeared on his wrist once he was off the court. Seen on the bench alongside Nadal, even casual Rolex fans could likely identify the 2022 Air-King right away.
Grass is the polar opposite to clay in that it's the fastest surface in tennis. The slippery surface allows the ball the generate speed, and the softness of the grass means a lower bounce, keeping the ball close to the ground. Grass tennis courts favour big serves and players who like to play close to the net.
If you break down their head-to-head, you see that Nadal leads Djokovic 20-8 on clay while the Serb leads 20-7 on hard.
But Stan Wawrinka shattered all his hopes as he defeated him 7-6, 6-2 to reach the last four of the tournament. Nadal was leading their head-to-head 12-1 before coming into the match. But the Swiss won the match against all the odds, winning his first match against Rafa on clay.
How is Nadal still good?
Nadal Is Great Against Everybody
He rises up to the occasion and dominates the best. In fact, against players who have been ranked in the top 30 at some point in their career, Nadal has a winning record against everybody but five players.
The advantage of hitting this forehand is that it naturally generates more topspin and sends the ball on a higher arch trajectory. It is often used by players as a defensive shot, so they can abbreviate their swing and still generate good power and extra whip when on the run or out of position.
Oh, and practice. During the off-season Nadal trains six days a week for six-and-a-half hours every day - four on court and the rest in the gym or the pool. Here, he reveals the secrets of his training regime.
At only 25 years of age, Nadal still has many more years to win Grand Slams. Nadal was younger than Federer when he won his first Grand Slam title (Nadal was 19, Federer 21). Right now, Nadal has 10 Grand Slams and is on a tear, having won three of the last four Grand Slam titles.
Federer narrowly bests Nadal as most popular men's tennis star. Behind Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and retired American Andre Agassi each had the next highest favorability rating (69%), followed by retired Americans Pete Sampras (66%) and ESPN tennis broadcaster John McEnroe (65%) to round out the top five.