By Mike McIntyre
It seems like the planets have aligned for the first time in 12 months allowing tennis fans the opportunity to see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal do battle once again. The top two players in the world (I don't care what the rankings say) are set to meet today in the finals of the Masters 1000 event in Madrid.
I think we can all agree that there is a lot at stake in this match - more-so than your typical Fed/Nadal encounter. The winner would have a nice boost to their confidence heading into the next Grand Slam of the year in Paris. While Nadal will still be considered the favorite regardless of today's outcome, this would do quite a bit for Roger's quest to nab back-to-back titles at Roland Garros. If Federer wins it will also tie him with Rafa and Andre Agassi for the most ever Masters series championships with seventeen. Meanwhile, if Rafa wins it will give him the all-time record with eighteen such trophies.
The fact that a 23 year-old Rafa has more Masters level titles than a 28 year-old Federer is quite impressive. It speaks to his complete domination on clay over the past five years as well as his rapid improvements on the hard-courts. Regardless of whether Federer ties his mark today it is clear that Rafa will one day own this category by quite some margin.
Despite beating Nadal in their their last meeting a year ago at this same tournament, I don't see Federer being able to repeat that task today. Federer has been shaky since the Australian Open and his transition to clay did not stop that trend. He has put together some tough three-set wins here in Madrid this week and is hardly playing at his usual form. Add to the fact that Nadal has yet to lose on clay courts this year and appears to have his health back and it certainly points to a Rafa victory both here and at the French Open.
Either way, the outcome of the match is a side-note really. Tennis fans should be happy merely to see these two great champions and rivals back on a tennis court together. This is the rivalry that has gripped us for half a decade and hopefully will continue to do that for at least a little while longer.
Check out the preview of this match over at the official ATP website. They will be live-streaming it later on as well. Enjoy the match!
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