Interessante confronto alfabetico tra Rafa e Roger sul sito di Wimbledon (p. es. alla lettera P - i punti vinti dai due nei confronti diretti; consolante la lettera F per chi si augura un declino di Federer; e poi la Y
):
A is for Aces. Roger Federer has served 179 aces past Rafael Nadal in their 20 matches while Nadal has sent just 46 aces by Federer.
B is for breakpoints saved. Nadal has saved 114 of the 180 break points Federer has held against him while Federer has saved 105 of the 185 break points.
C is for Cambio de tercio. Reportedly Nadal's favourite Spanish restaurant in London.
D is for double faults. There have been just 88 double faults (Nadal 40-44 Federer) served in the 4394 points played between Nadal and Federer.
E is for emotions. Who can forget Federer's tears after he lost the 2009 Australian Open final to Nadal in five sets? "God, it's killing me," Federer sobbed during the presentation ceremony. "Rafa congrats, you played incredible, you deserve it man. You played another fantastic final. In the first moment you're disappointed, you're shocked, you're sad, then all of a sudden it overwhelms you. The problem is you can't go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You're stuck out there. It's the worst feeling. It's rough."
F is for fatherhood. Roger Federer and his wife are expecting their first baby. Tennis dads have won only 10 of the last 116 Grand Slam titles. John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg did not collect a major after becoming a father.
G is for Grand Slam titles. Between them, Federer and Nadal have won 18 of the last 21 Grand Slam titles.
H is for hard work. Federer was once asked whether his talent was through genius or hard work. "I had to work on my genius," he replied.
I is for Ivan Lendl. Only Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe (11- 8 ) have met in more finals than Nadal and Federer (11-5).
J is for John McEnroe. McEnroe described the 2008 Wimbledon final as the greatest match he had ever seen.
K is for knees. Nadal did not defend his Queen's title earlier this month and in November 2008, he missed the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup and the Davis Cup final because of teninitis in his right knee – a recurring problem that has led to him strapping both knees for matches.
L is for longest match. The final of the 2006 ATP Masters series in Rome took 305 minutes which Nadal won 6-7(0) 7-6(5) 6-4 2-6 7-6(5).
M is for minutes played. Federer and Nadal have played 3281 minutes (two days, six hours, 41 minutes) of tennis against each other in 20 matches.
N is for Nalbandian. The only player in the world top 20 with a positive win-loss record against Nadal (2-1).
O is for one. Federer was world number one for 237 weeks before being usurped by Nadal in August 2008. Nadal had spent a record 160 weeks as world number two.
P is for points won. Nadal has won 2221 points against Federer while Federer has won 2173 against Nadal.
Q is for Queen's. In 2008 Nadal became the first player to win the French Open, Queen's then Wimbledon in succession.
R is for right hands. Nadal is naturally right-handed but his uncle and coach insisted he learn to play left-handed. "My left arm is much more developed than my right arm," Nadal says. "This is because I play lefty and that's sort of my gym, the tennis court. That's where I have fun."
S is for service points. In Nadal v Federer matches, the Spaniard has been more consistent at landing his first serve 74% (1359/2181) than Federer 62% (1359/2181) but the Swiss has won more points on his first serve, 70% (957/1359) compared to 67% (1091/1629).
T is for training. Nadal said this about training: "I always had the same physical trainer and I don't really see the difference from what I did five years ago. The biggest difference comes with the kind of work I specifically need for my tennis and the changes I have [made]. But not depending on age."
U is for US Open. The only Grand Slam event where Nadal and Federer have not met – a tournament Federer has won five times in a row and Nadal never.
V is for Vamos Rafa!. On every page on the internet (probably) where tennis fans can leave a comment, at least one person, and usually more, will write 'vamos rafa'.
W is for Wimbledon. Federer and Nadal have met in three finals at Wimbledon 2006-08 with Federer leading 2-1. Their matches have lasted a total of 11 hours and 31 minutes, they have played 982 points (Federer 502-480 Nadal), 155 games (Federer 80-75 Nadal) and 14 sets (Federer 8-6 Nadal).
X is for the X-factor. Something unpredictable, like Robin Soderling becoming the first player to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Could someone else beat Nadal or Federer or both?
Y is for yanking his underwear. Nadal’s signature move during his service routine is not a time-wasting tactic he says. "It's not the fault of the clothes. It's a habit that I picked up when I was competing when I was young. I am trying to break the habit, but it's not easy," Nadal told Time magazine.
Z is for zero. In the 2008 French Open final, when Nadal won the third set 6-0 it was the first time Federer had failed to win a game in a set since 1999.
, ogni volta che esce qualcosa di interessante, tienimi informato, volevo acquistare qualcosa di questo mito, magari una racca a lui dedicata, ma credo che cose del genere le faranno soltanto a fine carriera.
