Roger Federer became near-unbeatable at the US Open in the prime of his career, winning 40 straight matches at the tournament.
The star won the tournament five times in a row between 2004 and 2008, which no one in the Open Era can beat.
The Swiss icon played 100 matches at Flushing Meadows and only tasted 11 defeats during his incredible career.
Federer might have been dominant at the US Open, but he does have one regret at Flushing Meadows: not playing Rafael Nadal.
Roger Federer was desperate to face Rafael Nadal at the US Open
Federer and Nadal’s incredible rivalry saw 40 matches between the two legends on the ATP Tour, but they never played at the US Open.
The best chance looked to be the 2017 US Open, where Novak Djokovic had withdrawn from the competition due to an elbow injury.
Federer and Nadal were set to play each other in the semi-final of the tournament, and Federer was relishing the opportunity.
At a US Open press conference, he said: “I mean, I’d be happy to play him here. We never played here in New York, so I think that would be fun for everybody involved.
“I mean, there is, like, I don’t know, 60-plus players in between us that don’t agree in our section that we should make it to the semis. We have our work cut out there
“But, you know, I’d love to play Rafa here in New York. Hopefully it will be a night session. Hopefully that would be a great atmosphere and one again where we play great like at the Australian Open.”
The stars did not align yet again as Federer was beaten in four sets in the quarterfinal by Juan Martin del Potro.
Nadal won his quarterfinal and then beat del Potro in the final four. The Spaniard continued his run with a victory in the final against Kevin Anderson.
Rafael Nadal was not as enthused to face Roger Federer
Ironically, Nadal had earlier expressed an interest in missing Federer in the semi-finals of the American Grand Slam.
He said: “If I am in semifinals, I prefer to play against another one. Is obvious, no? I am not that way [to want the matchup].
Can you think of a more shocking Rafael Nadal moment in his career?
“Sounds very good, but the real thing, I prefer to play against another player, an easier one if it’s possible.”
The US Open is the only Grand Slam that did not feature a match-up between Nadal and Federer, despite the two men becoming very successful in Flushing Meadows.
Nadal won the tournament four times between 2010 and 2019, while Federer won five in a row between 2004 and 2008.
