S eventeen years ago, Rafael Nadal became the 24th world no. 1 in ATP history. On August 18, 2008, the 22-year-old ended ...

Top-seeded Switzerland's Roger Federer, left, smiles to Spain's Rafael Nadal after their semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament, at the Roland Garros stadium, Friday June 3, 2005 in ...

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s first Grand Slam meeting came in the semifinals of the 2005 French Open, which was the third episode in the brewing 40-match rivalry.

Roger Federer went down the memory lane to his French Open 2009 win, saying that he was relieved after not facing Rafael Nadal, who won the title four times from 2005 to 2008.

Nadal was just 18 years old in March 2005 when he took on then-World No. 1 Federer in the championship match. The Spaniard had defeated the Swiss maestro for the loss of just six games the year ...

As Rafael Nadal prepares to play what may be his final Roland Garros, we look back at the 10 matches that made him the undisputed King of Clay. MATCH 4: 2005 Roland Garros, semifinal: Nadal d.

David Ferrer, 2013 No. 4: Venus Williams d. Jennifer Capriati, 2001 No. 3: Pete Sampras d. Gustavo Kuerten, 2000 No. 2: Serena Williams d. Justine Henin, 2007 No. 1: Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal ...

Nadal stood 5-0 on clay against Federer before Federer beat him May 20 in the final at Hamburg, Germany. Nadal beat Federer in the 2005 French Open semifinals, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Back then, the big major speedbump to Nadal’s title came in the semifinals when he faced top seed Roger Federer. Nadal ended up winning that match in straight sets (6-2, 7-6, 6-3) and then went on to ...

Nadal defeated Federer in four sets in the semifinal to reach the final. He went on to beat Mariano Puerta in the final to capture the first of his 22 Grand Slam titles and 14 French Open titles.

Nadal would come back twice, but lose to first Djokovic (2012) and then to Federer’s compatriot, Stan Wawrinka (2014). Since 2010, Roger Federer’s great gifts have lost some of their luster.