Special, historic, unrepeatable match. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played, in 2007, a very particular duel, within the framework of an exhibition in Mallorca. It was the famous “Battle of the Surfaces”, won by the Spaniard, with half the court made of clay and half of grass.
They were young and already shining. At that time, the Swiss right-hander was No. 1 in the world and the Spanish left-hander was his second in the ATP rankings. The initiative was unprecedented and marked an event, being so special because a match like this was never repeated, with a court half of brick dust and half of grass.
It is then 17 years since that unique match, played at the Palma Arena, in Mallorca, against around 7 thousand people. The court, specially built for that exhibition, was very particular because the players had to play and move differently in certain passages depending on the surface and the bite of the ball in each half.
The match was left in the hands of the Spaniard, who won by 7-5, 4-6 and 7-6 (12-10) in a match that every time They changed sides, they also changed shoes. Federer was 25 years old and Nadal was barely 20.
The Battle of the Surfaces, Created by the Argentine Pablo del Campo, I had planned to play it again on other occasions but there was only one edition. A similar event did not occur again.
At that time, prior to Roland Garros 2007, Federer already had 10 Grand Slams in his cabinets, half of his final harvest, and arrived with a record of 42 consecutive victories on grass. He had won the last four Wimbledons (2003, ’04, ’05 and ’06) and he was also going to win at the All England in 2007, beating Nadal in five sets.
Nadal, then No. 2 in the world and with two titles Major At 20 years old, he had 72 wins in a row on clay, including Roland Garros 2005 and 2006. He was also going to conquer it in 2007, beating Federer in the final in four sets.
Therefore, this date is special as we remember that unrepeatable duel in Mallorca…
