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Battle of Surfaces

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The Battle of Surfaces
Spain Rafael Nadal vs. Switzerland Roger Federer
Set 1 2 3
Spain Rafael Nadal 7 4 712
Switzerland Roger Federer 5 6 610
Date2 May 2007
LocationPalma Arena
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
World rankingsSpain Rafael Nadal: 2
Switzerland Roger Federer: 1

The Battle of Surfaces was a men's tennis exhibition match that was held on May 2, 2007,[1] between Roger Federer, the then top-ranked men's singles player, and Rafael Nadal, the then world No. 2 in men's singles.[2] The match was played in the capital city of Nadal's home island, Palma de Mallorca, in front of a home crowd at Palma Arena. Prior to the match, Federer and Nadal had long undefeated streaks on their respective surfaces. Federer was undefeated for 48 matches on grass whilst Nadal was undefeated in 72 matches on clay.[3]

Nadal won a competitive match 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(12–10).[2][4] The event was almost cancelled the night before when the grass surface had to be replaced after being infested with worms.[5]

Background

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The concept came from the Argentine tennis fan Pablo del Campo who envisaged a hybrid tennis court combining clay and grass. He had previously tried to arrange a Battle of Surfaces match between Pete Sampras and Gustavo Kuerten.[6] The match was played on a unique court with a clay surface on one side of the net and grass on the other. The court cost $1.63 million to create and took 19 days to prepare.[7] At the time, Federer had won 48 straight matches on grass courts, going five straight years undefeated on grass, while Nadal had 72 straight wins on clay, going three straight years undefeated on clay.[8][9] Rafael Nadal was also leading the head-to-head between the two players 7–3, with a 5–0 record on clay while Roger Federer had won their only meeting on grass.[5]

The match was chosen to be played at the Palma Arena velodrome. Three days before the match, it was discovered that the grass that was being grown for the court had not grown well indoors and had a worm infestation that led to tennis balls getting stuck in the grass. The match was almost cancelled as a result. However, it was decided to use grass turf taken from a nearby golf green to replace it so the match could be played.[6]

The match

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Before the 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. Rafa holds the record of 72 victories in series on clay and I have not been defeated on grass since 48 matches. 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. People have been talking about this event for quite a while. Now it's coming up pretty soon already and I like the fact that the stadium - which is very nice, by the way - is located on Majorca, Rafa's home. He has been to Basel, after all, and now I've got the opportunity to play at his place for once.[10]

The match was played over three sets and the changeovers time limits were extended to 2 minutes to allow players to change their shoes for each surface.[6] Nadal won the match 7-5 4-6 7-6 (12-10).[6] After the match, Nadal said,

It has been a nice experience, although before the match I thought it would be a disaster because I felt it would be very difficult for me to adapt to the court.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marcus Christenson (3 May 2007). "Nadal claims Federer scalp in battle of the surfaces". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Nadal beats Federer to win battle of surfaces". Reuters. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  3. ^ White, Jim (23 June 2025). "What the mad Battle of the Surfaces taught us about tennis". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  4. ^ "The Day Federer & Nadal Battled on GRASS and CLAY ► Full Match". 12 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b "The story when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played on a hybrid court for the Battle of Surfaces". Tennis Clubhouse. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer: 'Genius' behind their half-clay half-grass match". BBC Sport. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Federer to face off with Nadal on customized court". Associated Press. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Nadal Wins the "Battle of Surfaces"". The Dong-a Ilbo. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Nadal wins 'clay-grass' thriller". BBC Sport. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  10. ^ "The Battle of Surfaces". Roger Federer official website. 14 April 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
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