Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
And Inglewood Jack - two thirds of their meetings were in Finals, so I'm not sure what you are getting at
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I consider Federer's peak years to be 2004 to 2007, when he collected 3 of the 4 majors three different years, and 11 of his 17 total. he made the final of every major during those years except for French 2004,2005 and Australian 2005. That's 16 finals, only 3 of which did not feature Federer.
How many matchups vs Nadal were there at those majors? Nadal beat him at the FO semis in 2005, then at the finals 2006 and 2007; Fed took the Wimby 2006 and 2007 finals...that's it. At his peak, Fed could not get past the greatest clay court player of all time (by a wide margin) at a clay slam. If Nadal wasn't around, it's extremely likely that Fed would own 5 FO titles, as well as a double calendar slam in 2006-2007.
So where was Nadal for the rest of those matches outside the FO during Federer's peak? not there, because he was still too young and learning grass and hard court. I'm not saying Fed would have a winning record against him if they were the same age. I'm just saying make sure you know the history and the context before using something as simplistic as H2H to determine whose career is greater when it's all added up.