Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played their first Roland Garros match in the 2005 semi-final. Six years later, they battled for the title for the fourth time, and Nadal had to dig deep to defend the Roland Garros crown. The Spaniard notched a hard-fought 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1 victory in three hours and 40 minutes to secure the sixth Parisian crown in the last seven years and match Bjorn Borg’s record.
Rafa had to give his everything to lift the tenth Major crown over his greatest rival and deliver the 45th Roland Garros win from 46 encounters. Nadal played well on clay that spring, conquering Monte Carlo and Barcelona and losing the finals in Madrid and Rome to Novak Djokovic.
Roger delivered Novak’s first loss of the season in the Roland Garros semi-final and was eager to score another big scalp in the title clash. Rafa won 13 points more than Roger and was a bit more efficient on serve and return to forge his triumph.
The Spaniard saved ten out of 15 break points and stole Roger’s serve on eight occasions to race towards the finish line in the fourth set when the Swiss finally lost the ground. As always against Nadal on clay, Federer was eager to keep the points on his racquet and move Rafa from his comfort zone while defending his backhand.
It worked well for him for the first three hours. Still, Nadal was there to win the most critical points and seal the deal in the fourth set when he broke Federer’s defense and marched towards the triumph. Federer had more winners, but he could not avoid a massive number of errors, as in most defeats against Rafa.
Nothing could separate them in the shortest points, which was very important for Nadal. On the other hand, Roger won more longest points than his rival, only to lose the match in the mid-range exchanges where Rafa had a clear edge.
Federer broke in the encounter’s game two on his fourth break point when Nadal made a huge forehand error.
Rafael Nadal needed three hours and 40 minutes to beat Roger Federer in Paris 2011.
Roger held at 15 with a smash winner to open up a 3-0 lead and settle into a fine rhythm.
The Swiss served well and made another good hold in game seven to move 5-2 up, looking good to conquer the opener. Rafa saved a set point on serve in game eight when Roger missed an easy backhand drop shot, and the Spaniard broke back in the following game to reduce the deficit to 5-4.
Federer lost his composure and got broken again at 5-5 to fall behind. Nadal landed a forehand winner in game 12 to bring it home and steal the opener 7-5 in 62 minutes after rattling off the last five games. A forehand winner earned a break for Nadal at the start of the second set, and he held at love in game two after a service winner to cement the lead and extend the streak.
Facing another challenge in game five, Federer hit two aces to fend off two break points and repelled another for an important hold that kept him within one break deficit. That became even more important after a loose service game from Rafa at 4-3, hitting a poor backhand to drop serve and bring Roger back into contention.
The Swiss could not use this momentum, though, spraying another backhand error in game nine to suffer another break. Rafa served for the set at 5-4 but could not hold his nerves, making a forehand error on the set point when the match was suspended due to the rain.
The Spaniard squandered another set point once they returned, and the Swiss grabbed a break to lock the result at 5-5 and extend his chances. They served well in games 11 and 12 to introduce a tie break. Nadal opened a 6-3 gap and blasted a forehand winner to gain a tremendous two sets to love lead after two hours and 15 minutes of grueling tennis.
After five easy holds in set number three, Roger missed an easy forehand to get broken and drift further from the positive result. Federer bounced back instantly and broke back at love in game seven after a drop shot winner.
With a boost on his side, Roger broke again in game 11 with a forehand winner and served for the set. Another forehand winner delivered it for him, and the match was right on after three hours and five minutes of high-quality tennis that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Shaken but not beaten, Rafa made a big step in the opening game of the fourth set. He denied three break points for a crucial hold and moved in front when Roger netted a forehand in the next one. After playing on the level terms with Rafa for some 200 minutes, Federer had nothing more left in the tank.
He dropped serve again in game six and approached the exit door, with Nadal serving for the title in the next game. As a true champion, Rafa fired two winners to create three match points in game seven. He seized the first after a colossal forehand error from Federer to lift his sixth title in Paris and join Bjorn Borg on the immortal list.
