• What the Deuce

A new chapter begins

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have met 22 times since 2004 © Getty Images

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It's the greatest rivalry since Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, yet the pair have hardly crossed paths this season: Roger Federer's victory over Rafael Nadal was a welcome new chapter in the Roger-Rafa saga.

For the neutral tennis fan, it was the perfect final - a showdown of the best two players in the world: Nadal, the world No. 1 and a three-time grand slam champion in 2010, against the 16-time major winner back in form after a testing season.

It is a rivalry stretching back to 2004, when a 17-year-old Nadal upset Federer in Miami - little did we know how significant that result would turn out to be - and 21 matches later Nadal holds the advantage with 14 wins to Federer's eight.

Between 2006 and 2008, the pair met 15 times - 13 of those encounters coming in a final, and six grand slam finals. However, since the 2009 Australian Open final nearly two years ago the pair have met just three times - and none of those have come in a major final.

Federer and Novak Djokovic have arguably shared a greater rivalry this season - or Nadal and Murray for that matter. Murray is the only player to have beaten Nadal more than once this season, while Djokovic and Federer have met five times in the last four months - and while Federer has come out on top on four of those occasions, crucially Djokovic got the better of his rival at the US Open - saving two match points to triumph in a thrilling five-setter in New York.

By his own lofty standards, five titles in a season is slim pickings for Federer, but once again he has proved it is impossible to write him off. Five months ago, after Federer he failed to reach the final at Wimbledon for the first time since 2002, questions were asked whether Federer was past his best; whether the father of twins had lost his drive, his focus, his aura. The great Swiss was no longer invincible.

Try telling him that. Judging by his performance in London, Federer is well and truly back. He cruised through his group matches, made light work of Djokovic in the semi-finals before demonstrating he was back to his fluid best to claim the year-end title for a record-equalling fifth time.

Federer had lost six of his previous seven matches against Nadal, but produced perhaps his best performance since his Australian Open victory over Murray in January to deny Nadal his first year-end title.

Federer's return to form is a boost for the sport © Getty Images

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Quite remarkably, it was only Nadal's tenth defeat in 81 matches this season - and regardless of his loss in London, it has been a stunning year for the world No. 1. A clean sweep on the clay, he became the first man to win all three Masters titles in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, before winning his fifth French Open title at Roland Garros.

A second title at Wimbledon swiftly followed, before showing ominous intensity to seal a career Grand Slam at the US Open. Like Federer, Nadal has learnt how to conserve energy and step up his game at the grand slams. But as the Spaniard began to cut back his schedule in September, Federer began to rise once again.

His victory in London was the culmination of a steady return to form since linking up with coach Paul Annacone in the summer - perhaps slightly under the radar - with titles in Cincinnati, Stockholm and Basel.

But for a rivalry to be truly great, both players must be at the top of their game - this year has been predominantly Nadal's; Federer came out on top in 2009, Nadal the year before. While the No. 1 ranking may continue to seesaw between the two, it must not be as a result of the other's slump.

We want to see a repeat of that 2008 Wimbledon final, a true exhibition of tennis. With Federer poised to defend his Australian Open crown and Nadal targeting a 'Rafa Slam', all eyes will be on Melbourne for what could be another chapter in the great rivalry.

When two of the greatest players ever to have picked up a tennis racket step onto a court together, we expect fireworks. We are fortunate enough that two such players are at the top of their games at the same time; Federer and Nadal's rivalry should be dynamic and compelling, not simply co-existent.

Their most recent rendezvous in London may just have given us reason to get excited again.

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