The last-ever Fedal final: What did we learn from Shanghai Masters 2017 match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
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Published 06/10/2023 at 08:09 GMT
As the Shanghai Masters returns to the ATP Tour, we look back on when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met in their last-ever final at the tournament in 2017. Carlos Alcaraz is set to be the top seed at Shanghai this season, but six years ago it was Federer and Nadal who were the stars. The pair met in the 24th final of their careers, and would play each other just twice more afterwards.
Sinner stuns Alcaraz for spot in China Open final
Shanghai, 2017. The last time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would ever face each other in the final of a tournament.
They would meet twice more in 2019, in the semis of Wimbledon and the French Open, but never again with a trophy on the line.
Shanghai was the 24th final that the two great rivals would contest. As the Shanghai Masters returns to the ATP Tour for the first time since 2019, we look back on the last-ever Fedal final.
'I knew I could do great, but not at this level'
The 2017 season was one of the best of the latter stages of Federer’s career.
Having missed the end of 2016 due to injury and dropped out of the top 15 in the rankings, Federer returned in style in 2017, winning seven titles, including two Grand Slams.
He also compiled a 54-5 win-loss record, his best since 2006, and got back to world No. 2.
“I knew I could do great again maybe one day, but not at this level. You would have laughed, too, if I told you I was going to win two Slams this year,” he said at Wimbledon, which he won for an eighth time.
“People wouldn't believe me if I said that. I also didn't believe that I was going to win two this year.”
So impressive was Federer, who was playing with a new racquet frame and new-found aggression from the baseline, that Tomas Berdych said he felt at the Australian Open it was the "best I’ve seen him play".
Nadal also returned to the top of the game in 2017 after ending the previous year early due to injury.
He won six titles, including the French Open and US Open, and finished the season as world No. 1 for the first time since 2013.
Had it not been for Federer, Nadal’s numbers would have looked even more dazzling. Heading into Shanghai, Federer had won all three meetings against Nadal in 2017, beating him in the Australian Open final, the last 16 in Indian Wells, and final of the Miami Open.
This was a surprising twist in the rivalry considering Federer trailed 23-11 in the head-to-head record at the start of the year, and had lost five of the previous six encounters.
'It's just who blinks at the wrong time'
Despite both being in good form in 2017, it wasn’t a certainty that Federer and Nadal would meet in the Shanghai Masters final.
Federer had missed the tournament the previous year and had lost in the second round in 2015. Nadal had also lost in the second round in two of his last three Shanghai appearances and hadn’t made the final since 2009.
But with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both absent from Shanghai in 2017, there was no stopping Federer and Nadal.
Federer reached the semis without dropping a set and then battled past Juan Martin del Potro in three sets to make the final. Nadal needed three sets to overcome Grigor Dimitrov in the quarters and then saw off fourth seed Marin Cilic in the semis.
The final was the 38th meeting between Federer and Nadal, but who was the favourite this time?
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Rafael Nadal in Shanghai in 2017
Image credit: Getty Images
Federer led the head-to-head record 3-0 for the season, but Nadal came into the match riding a 16-match winning streak and had won 14 of the 23 finals he had contested against Federer.
Federer predicted that the match would come down to a “few chances for either player and sometimes it's just who blinks at the wrong time”.
But it was Federer who took control from the start.
Playing with the roof closed, Federer was aggressive and broke in the opening game with a backhand passing winner down the line.
Federer continued to play attacking tennis and served brilliantly, winning 83 per cent of his service points in the first set and taking it with an ace down the middle.
A backhand winner set up a break for Federer in the fifth game of the second set as he moved further ahead.
Federer sealed the win with another break, raising his arms aloft in celebration after Nadal netted.
“I had no nerves really before the match, which was nice," said Federer afterwards.
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Roger Federer celebrates winning Shanghai in 2017
Image credit: Getty Images
“I was pretty clear about how I wanted to play the match. And then I came out and started off very well. Felt relaxed from then on. I always know that Rafa can come back at any moment if he connects well, picks the right sides, and does the right things.
"In a way, it's not surprising, because I did feel good all week, and it does pay off to arrive early to an event. You can't do it all the time, but I was here since Thursday late night and that's five, six days to prepare for a Wednesday match. So I was ready."
'He deserves to be No. 1'
The Shanghai Masters 2017 final might have been the start of the winding down of the Fedal rivalry, but it showed they both still had good tennis left in them.
For Federer it was a renaissance inspired by a more aggressive approach and excellent serving - his combined percentage of first and second serve points won in 2017 (80 per cent and 59 per cent) was the highest of his career.
Shanghai was the 94th title of Federer’s career and his penultimate Masters title (the last would be the 2019 Miami Open).
Federer would follow up by winning the Swiss Indoors title, but then surprisingly lost to David Goffin in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals.
Despite Federer finishing the season with a tour-leading seven trophies, Nadal would end as year-end No. 1 ahead of his great rival.
"The year played out the way it did and Rafa was better," said Federer.
"He deserves to be there. I'm really happy for him because he had a rough season as well in 2016. It's great for him."
If 2017 was the last great season of Federer's career, there was still more to come for Nadal.
In the last six years, he has added six more Grand Slam titles and has continued to cement his reputation as one of tennis' greatest champions, even as injuries have taken their toll.
He is currently two behind Novak Djokovic in the all-time Grand Slam standings ahead of a potential farewell season in 2024.
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