By Chris Oddo | Sunday August 27, 2017
The tennis world has spoken. Please, oh please, let there be a meeting between Rafa and Roger and this year’s U.S. Open, it says. The pair of tennis luminaries have been drawn into the same half of this year’s draw, and Federer seems enthused about the possibility of meeting Nadal for what would be a first bright lights big city showdown between the pair and a battle for the No.1 ranking.
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“I'd be happy to play him here,” Federer told a roomful of reporters on Saturday in New York. “Like you said, we never played here in New York, so I think that would be fun for everybody involved.”
Federer knows that the likelihood of a 38th edition of the storied rivalry is by no means set in stone, however.
“I mean, there is, like, I don't know, 60-plus players in between us that don't agree in our section that we should make it to the semis. We have our work cut out there.”
Nadal gets all that but he wasn’t shy about telling reporters that he’d rather face someone other than a five-time U.S. Open champion in the semifinals, if possible.
“Sounds very good, but the real thing, I prefer to play against another player, an easier one if it's possible,” he said. “I know you want to hear the other way that I would love to play with him. No, of course I understand that it’s going to be great for our history [if we play].”
A lot of Nadal’s lack of enthusiasm is easily explained by the fact that Federer is currently riding his longest winning streak ever against Nadal. He has won all three meetings they have played this year and dating back to his victory over the Spaniard in the 2015 Basel final, Federer has won four in a row over Nadal.
Federer had not won more than two matches consecutively against Nadal in a decade before they met in this year’s Australian Open final, and never more than two. Nadal, meanwhile, has won five in a row on three different occasions against Federer.
But the sway of the rivalry favors Federer in 2017, as do the fast-playing hardcourts in New York, where Federer’s attacking game can be almost as lethal as it is on Wimbledon’s grass.
“I'd love to play Rafa here in New York,” Federer said. “Hopefully it will be a night session. Hopefully that would be a great atmosphere and one again where we play great like at the Australian Open.”