• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played £1 million tennis match on half-clay, half-grass court to decide true GOAT and the results will amaze fans

Home> Tennis

Published 21:25 14 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played £1 million tennis match on half-clay, half-grass court to decide true GOAT and the results will amaze fans

Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are two of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Marcus Chan

Marcus Chan

Tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer once played an exhibition match on a 50-50 court.

Nadal and Federer are two of the greatest tennis players of all time, having won a combined total of 42 Grand Slams between them.

Along with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, they make up the 'Big Four' of the modern era.

Advert

Nadal is widely regarded as the King of Clay, having dominated the French Open by winning the title on 14 occasions.

Meanwhile, Federer's dominance came at the All England Club in London, where he won Wimbledon eight times.

As two of the best the sport has ever since, the pair played a rather unusual match back in 2007.

Advert

The meeting was dubbed the ‘Battle of Surfaces’ and was played in Mallorca, Spain, on a half-and-half court. The court had clay on one side and grass on the other, and it cost over £1 million to construct.

At that time, Federer was the top player; he was the world number one and was on a 48-match win streak on grass. Meanwhile, Nadal was three years unbeaten on clay.

Speaking ahead of the much anticipated match, Federer said: "We are both looking forward to this absolutely new event. The idea really appeals to me as we both dominate one of the surfaces.

"It’ll be fun to find out what it’s like to play on a court with mixed surfaces! And it ought to be interesting to see who chooses the better tactic."

Advert

In front of 7000 fans, Nadal took the first set 7-5 before Federer bounced back to take the second 6-4.

The third set was a roller coaster ride as it swung one way then the other.

In the end, it was Nadal who came out on top as he won the tie break 12-10.

After the match, Nadal spoke of the experience of playing on a half and half court.

Advert

He said: "It was a good experience, although before the game I thought it would be a disaster because I felt it would be very difficult for me to adapt to the court."

Federer called time on his career in 2022 before Nadal decided to retire in 2024.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube

Topics: Tennis, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal

Marcus Chan
Marcus Chan

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

4 days ago
5 days ago
6 days ago
  • 4 days ago

    Venus and Serena Williams made their feelings clear on gender pay gap after tennis made major decision no other sport has

    The issue of fair pay for women athletes is once again in the news after a protest by WNBA stars.

    Tennis
  • 5 days ago

    Tennis star tells fans to DM her on Instagram if they want to take her on a date before tournament starts as she 'hates dating apps'

    The Grand Slam finalist has asked her Instagram followers to DM her if they want to take her on a date.

    Tennis
  • 6 days ago

    Stefanos Tsitsipas announces shock split from coach after hearing what he said about him on TV

    Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas has confirmed the surprise split from Goran Ivanisevic.

    Tennis
  • 6 days ago

    Nick Kyrgios fires another savage dig at Jannik Sinner as war of words with Wimbledon champion continues

    The Australian tennis star has been outspoken in his criticism of the Wimbledon champion

    Tennis
  • Novak Djokovic reveals who he prefers out of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after feeling 'unwanted'
  • Novak Djokovic reveals who he prefers out of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after feeling 'unwanted'
  • Richest tennis player of all time worth more than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic has £1.63 billion fortune but is completely unknown
  • Nick Kyrgios sends 10-word message to Rafael Nadal following his retirement after 'lack of respect' comment