Fans disappointed by lack of Federer vs. Nadal showdown

Sep 08, 2017
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Fans disappointed by lack of Federer vs. Nadal showdown

Juan Martin del Potro spoiled the dream with his win over Federer

Published Sep 08, 2017

First came the news that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were in the same half, and then, the final blow. With all due respect to Juan Martin del Potro’s impressive quarterfinal victory over Federer, headlines everywhere seemed apologetic and disappointed.

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The Federer/Nadal rivalry is often cited as the greatest tennis rivalry of all time, but despite 12 meetings at Grand Slams and 13 years of clashes, they have never played against each other at the US Open. It’s fair to say that some observers really wanted to see it happen.

Federer and Nadal in New York are ships passing in the night. They have each had a renaissance year of glory in 2017 combining for an epic final at the Australian Open and overwhelming French Open (Nadal) and Wimbledon (Federer) titles. Somehow their divine tennis powers cannot connect in New York—perhaps it will be time to schedule an exhibition soon.

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Maybe everyone wanted this too much, and perhaps the pre-tournament hype was too overwhelming for the tennis gods to get in line.

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OK, well not everyone wanted Federer vs. Nadal. There have been worthy props to Del Potro for sure.

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It might just be time move on from the mythical dream match.