10 Years On: Federer's streak-starting win vs. Nadal in the 2015 Basel final
Ten years ago in the Swiss Indoors Basel final, Roger Federer made the most of his hometown advantage to notch a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win against Rafael Nadal — a pivotal result in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series that snapped Federer’s five-match losing streak against the Spaniard and started a five-match winning run of his own.
Adding further significance to the match, it was the great rivals’ first clash in nearly two years, since the 2014 Australian Open semi-finals. They would not meet again until the 2017 Australian Open final, making their Basel showdown their only match across the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
“Six hundred-plus days have gone by, so a lot of things have happened,” Federer said, noting his long wait to face Nadal. “Definitely I had the right game plan today.”
Late breaks decided the second and third sets in a closely contested final at the Basel event where Federer was once a ball boy. Nadal forced a final set with a break at 5-5 in the second, but Federer clinched the decisive break to lead 5-3 in the third with a series of groundstroke winners — a display of power that encapsulated a stellar attacking performance over the course of two hours.
“It was a very special day,” the Swiss added following his lone ATP Tour match against Nadal in his home nation. “Probably it was my best victory here in Basel.”
<img alt=”Roger Federer” style=”width: 100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/10/19/11/51/federer-basel-2015-pizza-party.jpg” />
Federer celebrated his win by throwing a pizza party for the tournament ballkids, as he often did at the Basel event. Photo Credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images
The Basel-born Federer trimmed Nadal’s advantage in their Lexus ATP Head2Head to 23-11 with the victory, ultimately closing the gap to 23-15 with his five-match winning streak. After Basel, Federer beat Nadal in a five-set final at the 2017 Australian Open, then notched dominant, straight-sets wins at the ATP Masters 1000s in Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai. Their next two matches would be their last, coming in quick succession in 2019: Nadal won a decisive Roland Garros semi-final en route to the title before Federer prevailed in a four-set Wimbledon semi-final.
Nadal finished with a 24-16 record in their Lexus ATP Head2Head, helped by three different five-match winning streaks (2005-06, 2008-09, 2013-14). Federer won consecutive matches just three times in their rivalry, and won more than two in a row just once — that run of five victories sparked by his Basel triumph.
Federer’s 2015 Basel title was his 88th tour-level singles trophy and his seventh in Basel. He closed his career with 103 titles, second only to Jimmy Connors’ 109, and a record 10 crowns at his hometown tournament.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]