A Rivalry Renewed

“Oh, you can’t miss that pass!” Paul Annacone yelled from the Tennis Channel commentators’ room, as Roger Federer sprayed an easy forehand wide in the third set against Rafael Nadal on Sunday.

It sounded like something that Annacone had been tempted to yell a hundred times before, back when he was Federer’s coach, and he had sat in the stands as he watched him play Nadal. Now that Federer was in Basel, and Annacone was two continents and an ocean away in Los Angeles, he felt free to let his frustration out for all to hear.

Annacone couldn't have been alone. There must have been a sinking feeling among the Federer faithful around the world at that moment. He was ahead 4-3 in the third set and had reached 15-30 on Nadal’s serve. Two more points and he could take the balls and serve for his seventh Basel title and first win over Rafa in six tries. Instead of seizing the moment, though, Federer had seized up. After spraying the aforementioned pass wide, he followed it by dumping another forehand into the bottom of the net. The Swiss crowd that had roared through the afternoon was silent; Federer and his fans had seen it all too many times before against this opponent.

But this wasn’t quite the same Federer, or quite the same Nadal, who had last faced each other at the Australian Open in January 2014. Back then Rafa was No. 1 in the world and coming off a two-Slam season, while Federer was No. 6 and had spent the previous 12 months mired in a slump. When Nadal recorded a fairly routine straight-set semifinal win that night, the assumption of many was that, in the coming years, their head-to-head record would only grow more one-sided in the Spaniard’s favor.

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Fast forward 21 months and their roles have largely been reversed. Now Federer is No. 2 and Nadal is No. 6. Now Federer is the one who is winding up a six-title season, while Nadal has spent it trying to fight his way out of his own slump. The early losses at majors that Federer suffered in 2013 have been suffered by Nadal in 2015. Now fans wonder if Rafa, rather than Roger, is in terminal decline.

Still, up to this point, their 34th encounter hadn’t looked all that much different from their first 33. As usual, in boxing terms, Nadal had pummeled the body, while Federer had danced and jabbed.

Nadal had won the opening point with a high, heavy crosscourt forehand—“Look for a lot of that today,” Annacone said—and even while Rafa was losing, he played more dynamic tennis than he had all week. The challenge of facing Federer, and the very specific tactics that Nadal knows he needs to use to beat him, helped him play with more purpose and assurance than he has shown for most of this year. He moved father up in the court and hit his backhand well, he was quick to pounce at the net when he had an opening, and he used his body serve effectively. Rafa finished with just 13 unforced errors in two hours of play. By the end of the second set, his defensive shotmaking had Federer standing with his hands on his hips in frustration. Where had we seen that before?

Yet Federer had also been sharp. He had applied the all-court attack that he has been honing for the last 19 months (Federer’s last meeting with Nadal came at the end of his first tournament with Stefan Edberg in his corner). He hit 32 winners and 12 aces, and at 2-2 in the first set he did something unusual against Rafa: He converted an early break point. Federer, after stepping forward to smack a crosscourt backhand winner, followed it by putting a forehand on the sideline for another winner, and the game.

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A fast Federer start had won set one. A classic Nadal climb-back had won set two. Each had their chances in the third, but now it looked like Federer was going to squander another. With Nadal serving at 4-3, 40-30, Federer pushed forward again and forced Rafa to hit a running forehand pass. How many times had Federer put Nadal in a similar position, only to see him dip a seemingly miraculous forehand past him? This time, though, Rafa did what most mortals would do: He dipped the ball into the bottom of the net. Then, on the next point, he hit another forehand into the net. On break point, he hit a backhand long. The crowd stood, Nadal closed his eyes in pain, and, a few minutes and a few more nervous moments later, Federer had his 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win.

In the battle between their recent form, which favored Federer, and the history of their rivalry, which favored Nadal, form had won. At the end, Federer played like a man who is 56-9 on the year, and who believed in his attacking game enough to do against the man he has always struggled most to attack. At the end, Nadal’s forehand, the shot that has let him down most this year, let him down again.

“Overall, I was really happy with the way I played,” Federer said, "and it was a very special day. I know I’ve had better backhand days and he’s had better forehand days, but the match was high quality and it was entertaining and exciting for both of us as well. The confidence is good, no doubt about that.”

“Today I was competitive against one of the best players in the world,” Nadal said. “The match wasn’t far away from me. He played well, and I played well, too. The match was very close to win, but I think he served very well in the third...I had a lot of quality things in my game and mental side to take away from the week.”

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And it’s true, the match was a step forward for both of them. Federer needed this one; he was at home, he had been the better player all year, and he was on his favorite surface, indoor hard courts. He needed it, and he got it. As for Rafa, he put together his third straight quality week of play, and gave himself a chance to win the final.

Twenty-one months ago, we thought that Federer might be on his way down. This year we’ve thought the same about Rafa. Even at their relatively advanced ages of 34 and 29, you can’t say that about either man after this match. Federer was so happy with how it all went that he said he wants to be playing in Basel when they open a new stadium there in 2018. And why wouldn’t he want to do that at 37, when he can imagine having more matches with—and wins over—his old rival?

“Buckle your seat belts,” Annacone had said at the start, as Nadal walked up to the baseline to serve the opening point to Federer. This was the first time the two had played in Switzerland, and the match began with a festive, anticipatory air that never dissipated. The Beatles were finally back together, and their performance didn’t disappoint. Even better, you get the feeling, for the first time in a long time, that there could be many more to come.