Ten years ago in the Swiss Indoors Basel final, Roger Federer made the most of his hometown advantage to record a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory against Rafael Nadal – a crucial result in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series that broke Federer’s five-match losing streak against the Spaniard and started his own five-match winning streak.
What made the match even more meaningful was that it was the major rivals’ first clash in almost two years, since the Australian Open semi-finals in 2014. They would not meet again until the 2017 Australian Open final, making their clash in Basel their only match of the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
“More than 600 days have passed, so a lot has happened,” Federer said, pointing to the long wait for the showdown with Nadal. “I definitely had the right game plan today.”
Late breaks decided the second and third sets in a closely contested final at the Basel event, where Federer was once a ball boy. Nadal forced a final set with a break at 5-5 in the second, but Federer grabbed the decisive break to lead 5-3 in the third with a series of ground winners – a show of power that summed up a stellar attacking performance over the course of two hours.
“It was a very special day,” the Swiss added after his only ATP Tour match against Nadal in his home country. “It was probably my best win here in Basel.”
Federer celebrated his victory by hosting a pizza party for the tournament ballers, as he often did during the Basel event. Photo credits: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images
The Basel-born Federer cut Nadal’s lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head to 23-11 with the win, eventually closing the gap to 23-15 with his five-match winning streak. After Basel, Federer defeated Nadal in a five-set final at the 2017 Australian Open before posting dominant straight-sets wins at the ATP Masters 1000s in Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai. Their next two matches would be their last in quick succession in 2019: Nadal won a decisive Roland Garros semi-final on his way to the title before Federer triumphed in a four-set Wimbledon semi-final.
Nadal finished with a 24-16 record in their Lexus ATP Head2Head, aided by three different five-match winning streaks (2005-06, 2008-09, 2013-14). Federer has won consecutive matches only three times in their rivalry, and more than two in a row only once – that five-game winning streak sparked by his triumph in Basel.
Federer’s 2015 Basel title was his 88th tour-level singles trophy and his seventh in Basel. He finished his career with 103 titles, second only to Jimmy Connors’ 109, and a record 10 crowns at his hometown tournament.
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