Roger Federer says he is looking forward to playing archrival Rafael Nadal. should the two meet in the semifinals of the Australian Open. The last time the two former No. 1’s faced off in the semis of a major was at 2005 Roland Garros. The last time they played at the Australian Open was in the 2009 final, when Nadal won his sole title in a five-set victory that brought Federer to tears.
Nadal owns a 17-9 record against the Swiss, besting him the 2011 Roland Garros final but falling to him decisively in the ATP World Tour Finals. Since 2008, Nadal has won nine of their 12 matches.
"I'd like to play Rafa because of our great epic match earlier in the finals here a few years ago," said Federer after his straight-sets victory over Juan Martin Del Potro. "I'd like to get a chance to play him again here…It's true, we have been, on opposite sides of the draw many times. I didn't even play [Andy] Murray last year, because we were ranked I guess 3 and 4, so we always ran into Novak [Djokovic] or I basically always ran into Novak. I guess it's a nice changeup. Okay, it doesn't allow a rematch for the Australian Open final here if Murray were to play Novak. But I think it's good for tennis that it changes up a bit."