May 2, 2007: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer play the Battle of Surfaces in Mallorca. Clay on one side, grass on the other! Players had to change their footwear at every changeover 😮 Watch until the end for some bromance ❤️👇
Is this the strangest tennis concept ever? Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played 'Battle of the Surfaces' on half and half courts today in 2007
ATPThursday, 02 May 2024 at 19:30
17 years have passed since the 'Battle of Surfaces', where Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal competed on a court made half of grass and half of clay in Mallorca. The duel held at the Palma Arena had around 7,000 spectators in one of the most peculiar matches in history.
At that time, the world No. 1 was Roger Federer, who was on an incredible streak of 42 consecutive victories on grass, including the four previous Wimbledons (2003-2006), and two months later he would win the fifth in a row. The world No. 2 Rafael Nadal had an incredible streak of 72 consecutive victories on clay, including the last two Roland Garros titles.
Federer was 25 years old and Nadal was 20 years old when Argentine publicist Pablo del Campo came up with the concept that was played only once, although the intention was to hold an edition every year. The court took 19 days to be ready and cost 1.63 million dollars.
"We are both looking forward to this absolutely new event. The idea really appeals to me as we both dominate one of the surfaces," Federer said before the match, which ended in a victory for Nadal by 7-5, 4-6, 7-6.
During the match, both players had to change shoes at every change of ends, and it became an iconic moment in the history of tennis and in the rivalry between Nadal and Federer: "It has been a nice experience, although before the match I thought it would be a disaster because I felt it would be very difficult for me to adapt to the court," Nadal said after the match.
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