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Topics: Tennis, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal
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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.