The 40th edition of ‘Fedal’ – as this match-up is popularly referred to in tennis circles – is the first Wimbledon meeting between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer since their epic five-set 2008 final that has spawned books and documentaries and is considered one of the greatest matches of all time.
Here’s a look at some of the stand-out numbers surrounding this duel ahead of their highly-anticipated last-four showdown.
1 – this is the first time Federer and Nadal will be playing each other at SW19 outside the final. Their previous three Wimbledon clashes all came in finals (2006-2008).
3 – ‘Fedal’ is the third-most contested men’s rivalry in the Open era (40), behind Djokovic-Nadal (54) and Djokovic-Federer (47). It’s also the third-most contested match-up at Grand Slams (14), behind Djokovic-Federer and Djokovic-Nadal (15).
3 – service games dropped by Federer en route to the semi-finals (saved 11/14 break points), compared with four service games lost by Nadal (saved 10/14 break points).
4 – this will be the fourth time Nadal and Federer have met at Wimbledon, with the Swiss leading their head-to-head 2-1. They have never played on grass outside Wimbledon.
4 – Nadal and Federer have each won four Grand Slam titles since turning 30.
5 – this is their fifth encounter in a Grand Slam semi-final, with Nadal winning all four so far (Roland-Garros 2005, 2019, Australian Open 2012, 2014).
5 – the longest ‘Fedal’ match was Nadal’s five hour and five minutes victory in the Rome final in 2006.
6 – five-set matches Nadal and Federer have contested against one another, which they’ve split 3-3.
6 – Nadal won six straight matches against Federer at Grand Slams before the 2017 Australian Open.
9 – hours and 23 minutes spent by Federer on court en route to the semi-finals this Fortnight. Nadal has played for 10 hours and 45 minutes in comparison.
10 – victories and three losses for Nadal against Federer in Grand Slam meetings. No one has claimed more Grand Slam wins over Federer.
10 – Federer is 10-11 against Nadal in tie-breaks.
14 – wins and two losses for Nadal against Federer on clay.
15 – they first faced each other 15 years and four months ago, when a 17-year-old Nadal shocked Federer in Miami in 2004.
20 – Nadal has won 20 more sets than Federer in total (Nadal leads 70-50).
24 – wins for Nadal and 15 losses against Federer in career meetings.
24 – of Nadal and Federer’s 39 previous meetings have come in finals, with the Spaniard leading those 14-10.
33 – Federer ended Nadal's 33-match winning streak on clay with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in their 2009 Madrid final.
37 – Federer and Nadal enter this semi-final tied at the top of the 2019 match-wins leaderboard, having each recorded 37 victories this season.
44 – serve-and-volley points played by Federer this tournament (won 34 of them), compared with just eight played by Nadal (won six of them).
47 – aces struck by Nadal so far this Fortnight – the most among the four semi-finalists – compared with 42 from Federer.
59 – the shortest ‘Fedal’ match ever contested was a 59-minute victory for Federer in the semi-finals of the Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2007.
62 – the average ranking of Federer’s opponents en route to the Wimbledon semi-finals is 62, compared with 105 for Nadal.
92 – hours and 53 minutes, the time Federer and Nadal have spent in matches against one another throughout their careers.