17 years ago Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's rivalry begun

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It was the beginning of a new era: 17 years ago, it was exactly March 28, 2004 and on that date began what will be remembered by tennis fans as the greatest rivalry of all time, when a young and talented he challenged what was already considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Roger Federer, and surprisingly it was Rafael Nadal who won with a double 6-3 and started his true dynasty.

We have seen these two players compete on multiple occasions, simple matches or Grand Slam finals, almost always high-tension challenges that saw one or the other win. Rafael Nadal is ahead in the previous with 24 wins and 16 defeats, the two have not challenged each other since the 2019 Wimbledon semi-final (not counting the performances) which saw the Swiss triumph.

Despite the many losses he suffered, one of Roger Federer's greatest and best memories comes from a challenge against Rafael Nadal, it was the final of the Australian Open 2017 and no one would have expected yet another great act from the Fedal.

The two players share the record for Grand Slam titles (both at 20) and together with Novak Djokovic are among the three most successful players in history. Let's review in video the first great match between these two tennis legends:

#OnThisDay 17 years ago 📍#FEDAL was born 🤗

Relive the first two matches of their rivalry in Miami 👇 — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 28, 2021