For all their triumphs, even the game’s greatest champions have endured their share of heartache from high-stakes defeats. 

With that in mind, here is our topic for the third Fan Essay Contest, part of the Emirates ATP Kids Hub: If you could re-write history and turn one defeat of your favourite player into a win, what match would that be and why?

Write about your memories of watching the match and how you felt after the defeat. Consider writing an alternative ending, in which your favorite player comes out on top. And perhaps write about how that alternative outcome might have changed the course of your favourite player’s career?

You have until Friday 26 June at 12 noon ET to submit your essay of no more than 500 words to [email protected]. The best three entries will be featured on ATPTour.com.

Fans must be 18 and under to enter. Winning entries will be determined by the ATPTour.com editorial team.

Read the winners from the first essay contest and the second essay contest. 

Entrants are limited to one entry per essay topic, but may submit entries for each new question in the competition. There will be a new topic every three weeks. Essays must be written in English and submitted to [email protected]. Please do not send essays as attachments. Paste the text into the body of an email.

Click here for full terms and conditions.

Check out more great activities in the Emirates ATP Kids Hub.

Hey Kids!

On the tennis court you have to move backwards, forwards, laterally and diagonally to emerge a winner. It also helps to have good eyesight.

You’ll need to combine those traits to succeed in the latest activity to drop in the Emirates ATP Kids Hub. Download the Word Search worksheet below and then highlight 18 hidden words. Play with a friend and time yourself. The person who finds the words first wins!

Download Word Search Worksheet (PDF)

Download Answer Sheet (PDF)

Don’t forget to check out all the great activities in the Emirates ATP Kids Hub

Roger Federer has made plenty of history in his career. But one of the most memorable matches of the past decade was one in which the Swiss star prevented history.

Entering the 2011 Roland Garros semi-finals, Novak Djokovic was flying higher than any player in recent memory. The Serbian had won his first 41 matches of the season, putting him one victory from tying John McEnroe’s 1984 record for most consecutive wins to start a year.

High on confidence, Djokovic was pushing for his first Roland Garros title. Seven of the Serbian’s wins that season came against Federer or Rafael Nadal. But Federer was not intimidated.

“I’ve trained a lot during my whole life for these kinds of matches,” Federer said. “There was an enormous amount of pressure on Novak, and he really played well.”

Djokovic’s problem was that Federer played better. The Swiss snapped a three-match losing skid against Djokovic with a stunning 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory to reach the final in Paris.

Immediately after the match, commentators wondered whether it was the best match of the season. The quality was high from the early going, with few blips. Federer was far more dominant behind his first serve, winning 77 per cent of those points compared to 60 per cent for Djokovic, and he showed patience in longer rallies, not allowing the Serbian’s defence to force him to go for too much early in rallies.

Federer saved two set points in the 70-minute opening set, eventually taking it in a tie-break. The Swiss then swiftly opened up a 4-1 advantage in the second set as he took a commanding lead against the Serbian, whose perfect season was slipping away.

Djokovic faced the daunting task of trying to become the first player in 175 attempts to rally from two sets down against Federer. But the World No. 2 made a good start in that direction, immediately breaking in the third set and cruising through the rest of the set. After Federer framed a ball into the stands while facing break point at 4-4 in the fourth set, Djokovic was a hold away from sending the match to a decider.

Federer, the 2009 champion, battled hard to avoid losing his lead, breaking back with an inside-in forehand winner. Although Djokovic has proven himself one of the best returners of all-time, Federer’s serve was too strong under pressure in the ensuing tie-break, and he hit his 18th ace to clinch his third Top 10 win of the year.

“I was just trying to put in a good match and get to the French Open final, which I’m obviously happy I was able to do,” Federer said. “It almost feels like I’ve won the tournament, which is not the case.”

There was plenty of anticipation for a potential Djokovic-Nadal showdown for the Coupe des Mousquetaires, especially considering the Serbian had beaten the Spaniard twice during that clay-court season alone. Djokovic was poised to try to add another blemish to Nadal’s sterling 44-1 record at the Slam. But instead it was Federer who earned a shot at the Spaniard.

”It was a great tournament. It was the best five months of my life, my tennis career,” said Djokovic, who went on to win the next three Grand Slams. ”I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period. It had to end somewhere. I knew it [was] coming.”

Federer had a chance to win his second Roland Garros trophy in three years. Nadal, however, stopped him in four sets. 

Few players are able to match the physicality Rafael Nadal brings to the court, forget about exceeding it. But, when Dominic Thiem is at his best, the Austrian has been able to do just that, creating a captivating ATP Head2Head rivalry.

“A player like Dominic has a lot of potential,” Nadal said after losing against Thiem at the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open. “Whenever he plays really well, it’s very difficult to stop him.”

When both men’s games are clicking simultaneously, fans are in for jaw-dropping tennis, as the stars unleash massive groundstrokes at one another without hesitation. Nadal leads Thiem 9-5 in their series. 

“If you want to have a chance against him, one of the all-time greats, everything needs to work in your game,” Thiem said after beating Nadal in this year’s Australian Open quarter-finals.

Thiem has impressed with his performance against Nadal on clay over the years. The Austrian beat the Spaniard once a year from 2016-19.

Watch Highlights: Thiem’s Last Clay Win vs. Nadal

“I’m always super proud if I beat him, because he’s the best player ever on this surface,” Thiem said. “It’s always very special to beat him… on clay.”

Nadal, however, has maintained his throne at Roland Garros. The 19-time Grand Slam champion has beaten Thiem in the Paris final in each of the past two years, doing so in straight sets in 2018 and four sets in 2019. Nadal has admitted it hasn’t been easy against the Austrian, against whom he feels under pressure when Thiem is able to take control of rallies early.

“He [was] the most difficult opponent,” Nadal said after last year’s championship. “[This] has been the most difficult match.”

The most memorable clash of the pair’s 14 previous meetings came in the quarter-finals of the 2018 US Open. Nadal battled past Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) in an epic four-hour, 49-minute marathon that ended at 2:04 a.m.

Thiem delivered an onslaught of 74 winners and won the first 6-0 set against Nadal at the US Open in 14 years (Andy Roddick, 2004). But Nadal scratched and clawed, triumphing despite winning six fewer points. Thiem was close that evening in Flushing Meadows, but not close enough.

“It’s going to be stuck in my mind forever,” Thiem said. “I’m going to remember this match, for sure. Tennis is cruel sometimes, because I think this match didn’t really deserve a loser. But there has to be one.

Nadal is more than seven years older than Thiem, so they are from different generations. But the Spaniard has great respect for how the 26-year-old carries himself on and off the court.

“He played great matches against me in the past, too. He played great-quality tennis. I think we like each other in terms of character. I like his attitude,” Nadal said in Melbourne this year, before cracking a smile. “Probably he likes mine, too.”

Rafael Nadal has had Roger Federer’s number on clay throughout their legendary ATP Head2Head series, winning 14 of their 16 meetings on the surface. Nowhere has the Spaniard been more superior on clay than at Roland Garros, where the lefty has won all six of their clashes.

Nadal has won 18 of his 22 sets at the clay-court major against one of his greatest rivals. Despite the record, Federer never shied away from the challenge, saying before the 2019 semi-finals: “I’m very happy to play Rafa… Because if you want to do or achieve something on the clay, inevitably, at some stage, you will go through Rafa, because he’s that strong and he will be there.” 

More On Roger vs Rafa
* Federer & Nadal’s 10 Best Quotes About Each Other
* Roger vs. Rafa: The Rivalry

ATPTour.com relives all six of their meetings at Roland Garros:

2019 Roland Garros semi-finals, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 63 64 62
Nadal and Federer met at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2017 Australian Open final, in which Federer rallied from down a break in the fifth set to triumph. Nadal, at this point an 11-time Roland Garros champion, was once again the tournament favourite leading into their semi-final showdown, which was their first meeting at the clay-court Slam in eight years. 

Federer was competing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015, and he had done well in his return to the tournament. The Swiss won his first four matches in straight sets before dismissing 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka in four. He had nothing to lose against Nadal. 

But the second seed was ruthless in tough weather conditions, dismissing Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 25 minutes to move to 6-0 in their Roland Garros series. The 2009 champion struggled to find his range from the baseline, frequently mis-hitting balls early in the match to set the tone. Nadal did well to keep Federer pushed back, landing his heavy topspin strokes close to the baseline to prevent the Swiss from stepping into the court and finding his timing.

“The conditions out there today [were] so hard, so [it was] difficult to manage,” said Nadal, who went on to beat Dominic Thiem for his 12th Roland Garros title. “It was a day to just focus, accept all the adversity, and just be focused on [being] positive all the time. That’s what I tried to do.”  

Read 2019 Match Report

2011 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 75 76(3) 57 61
Nadal and Federer contested a Grand Slam final for the eighth time when they met in the Roland Garros final, and it was Nadal who prevailed as he finished strongly to end Federer’s bid for a second title at the clay-court major in three hours and 40 minutes. The Spaniard had also beaten Federer in the Roland Garros final from 2006-2008.

Having ended Novak Djokovic’s 41-match unbeaten run in 2011 in the semi-finals, Federer hoped his top form would be enough to dethrone Nadal in Paris and made a strong start as he raced to a 5-2 lead. The Swiss squandered a set point chance in the eighth game, though, and it sparked the Nadal comeback as the Spaniard reeled off five straight games to take the opener.

Nadal capitalised on his momentum to break early in the second set, and was serving for the set at 5-4, deuce, when a heavy shower suspended play for 10 minutes. Upon resumption Federer broke back, but Nadal regained his composure in the tie-break to take a commanding two-set lead.

The top-seeded Nadal broke through in the sixth game of the third set, but had no chance to build on his lead as the resilient Federer immediately struck back with a service break to love. The Swiss then delighted the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd, and stunned Nadal, as he won four of the next five games to claw his way back into the match.

The key stage in the fourth set came in the opening game as Federer squandered a 0/40 opportunity on Nadal’s serve. From there the tide swiftly turned in Nadal’s favour as he broke serve twice, dominating the baseline rallies as he raced through to claim victory.

2008 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 61 63 60
After contesting closely fought battles in the finals of Monte-Carlo and Hamburg in the lead up to Roland Garros, much was expected when Roger Federer stepped up to face Rafael Nadal in their 17th career meeting. However the match proved to be the most one-sided encounter between the pair.

Nadal enjoyed the better start in the match, breaking Federer’s serve in the first game courtesy of one of an eventual 49 unforced errors from the Swiss’ racquet. From there, Nadal did not look back and went on to break the Federer serve twice more to seal the set 6-1 as Federer drifted a forehand volley long.

After fighting back from an early break down in the second set, Federer had the chance to gain a key break though when presented with a break point chance in the seventh game. However, he was denied and, after failing to take his opportunities, the Swiss No. 1 was immediately under pressure and conceded his own serve as another backhand pass from Nadal was just out of his reach. Nadal was quick to extend his lead, closing out the set 6-3 as Federer returned serve long.

The third set lasted just 27 minutes as Nadal broke serve three times to secure the match victory after just one hour and 48 minutes, and hand Federer his first bagel set since June 1999, as the Swiss fired a forehand long, prompting muted celebrations from Nadal after the comfortable win.

Read: Federer Puts Up ‘Help Wanted’ Sign In Paris Ahead Of Nadal Clash

2007 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d Federer 63 46 63 64
The stakes were higher than ever when Federer and Nadal clashed in the 2007 Roland Garros final. For the second consecutive year Federer was attempting to become just the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles and to be just the third man to hold all four majors at the same time. Nadal was looking to join Bjorn Borg as the only player to win three consecutive Roland Garros crowns.

Earlier in the clay swing, Nadal had beaten Federer in the Monte-Carlo final but Federer avenged that defeat with his first clay court victory over Nadal in the Hamburg final.

Federer took the fight to Nadal early, earning 10 break point chances over three consecutive Nadal service games in the first set. But the tough Spaniard refused to buckle and scrapped to win the first set. Although Federer rebounded to win the second set, Nadal’s ability to fight off 16 of 17 break point opportunities in the match proved the telling factor.

Federer returned more aggressively – particularly on the backhand – to try to stop Nadal from controlling points, but, as in past meetings, the Spaniard’s high kicking left-handed forehands into his backhand were too much for Federer to handle.

2006 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 16 61 64 76(4)
Playing in his first Roland Garros title match, Federer was attempting to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four straight Grand Slam events, and just the third player in history to achieve the feat.

Nadal was looking to become the youngest player to defend the Roland Garros title since Bjorn Borg in 1974-75. The Spaniard also was trying to improve his perfect record at Roland Garros to 14-0, his clay court winning streak to 60 matches and to notch his 100th career clay court win.

Federer broke Nadal twice in the first set to race to a 5-0 lead. But then Nadal began to dominate the match with his crushing forehand and Federer struggled with many unforced backhand errors.

Nadal did not drop serve again until he tried to close out the match at 5-4 in the fourth set. But he clinched the match soon after in the tie-break. Nadal won his 14th consecutive final (second only in the Open Era to Federer’s mark of 24 straight finals won).

Read Nadal On Facing Federer: ‘We Shared The Most Important Moments’

2005 Roland Garros semi-final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 63 46 64 63
Theirs was the most eagerly awaited match of the tournament. Federer was already No. 1 in the world and fast-rising Nadal was at No. 5.

Nadal came to Roland Garros on the heels of clay-court titles in Monte-Carlo in April (d. Coria) and in Rome in May (d. Coria again). Federer, meanwhile, was fresh off of his second straight clay-court crown in Hamburg in May (d. Gasquet).

Federer evened the score by winning the second set, but after that his form fell as the wet and dark conditions set in. Nadal kept the pressure on, ousting Federer in four sets on the way to winning the Roland Garros title on debut (d. Puerta in the final).

Matteo Berrettini is a three-time ATP Tour titlist and one of only four Italian men to have cracked the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about the 24-year-old.

1) His Breakthrough Came In Gstaad
Berrettini entered the 2018 J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad aiming to reach his first tour-level quarter-final with no doubles victories on the ATP Tour to his name.

Ranked No. 84 in the ATP Rankings, the Italian defeated three consecutive seeded players to take the singles trophy, before adding the doubles title to his collection later in the day.

“[Gstaad was an] unbelievable week. I won singles and doubles there and I had never won an ATP Tour doubles match, so it was all in a rush. I will never forget that week,” said Berrettini.

2) He Elevated His Game In 2019
Berrettini began the 2019 ATP Tour season at No. 52 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and had reached the semi-finals or better at just one ATP Tour event. But the Italian put together an impressive set of results to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time and finish the year at No. 8.

Berrettini reached the semi-finals or better at eight tour-level events, winning ATP Tour crowns in Budapest and Stuttgart and finishing as runner-up in Munich. The 6’5” right-hander finished the year with 43 tour-level victories, including six against Top 10 opponents.

After reaching the Erste Bank Open semi-finals in Vienna, Berrettini became only the fourth Italian to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The three-time ATP Tour titlist was also selected by his peers as the Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2019 ATP Awards.

3) His Forehand Is Massive
During the fourth episode of Tennis United, Berrettini’s girlfriend and WTA World No. 56 Ajla Tomljanovic discussed the problems she encounters when training with the Italian No. 1.

“He wants to get better too and my arm is hurting by like the 40th minute because his forehand is massive,” said Tomljanovic.

The Aussie has also proven to be a helpful workout partner during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We work out together and it’s really helpful that she’s there. She pushes me to run more and do more,” said Berrettini. “I used to work out with my brother and it helped me a lot, so I’m really happy when I can train with someone.”

4) He Made Italian History At The 2019 US Open
At last year’s US Open, Berrettini became only the second Italian man to reach the US Open semi-finals after Corrado Barazzutti in 1977.

Building on his run to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, the Italian beat Andrey Rublev and Gael Monfils in back-to-back matches to reach the last four in New York. Berrettini’s win against Monfils will be remembered as one of the matches of the tournament, with the Rome-born star eventually overcoming the 2016 semi-finalist 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5) after three hours and 56 minutes. Berrettini’s run was ended by eventual champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

5) He’s Improving His Stamina
During his breakthrough 2019 season, Berrettini contested 73 matches across 26 tournaments.

The three-time ATP Tour titlist reached three semi-finals late in the year at the US Open, Rolex Shanghai Masters and Erste Bank Open, which led to struggles with fatigue during his debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. As a result of that experience, Berrettini decided to make off-court training a priority during his pre-season training block in Monte Carlo.

“We were all tired playing at the end of the year, but all the guys [in London] had more energy. They were better than me physically,” said Berrettini. “When the tournament finished, I told my team that I wanted to improve this for the next year. I wanted to arrive in better condition if I qualified again.”

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have met on seven occasions at Roland Garros, most notably in the 2012 and 2014 championship matches. But, in the year between those two final clashes, the pair contested their greatest meeting in Paris at the semi-final stage.

Less than four months after spending seven months on the sidelines with a left knee injury, Nadal returned to Paris in red-hot form. The seven-time champion had reached finals in each of his opening eight comeback events, winning six trophies with 36 wins from 38 matches.

But, as the No. 4 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, he would have to get past World No. 1 Djokovic to reach the championship match in Paris. Djokovic entered the contest with confidence, having ended Nadal’s streak of eight consecutive Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crowns with a straight-sets final victory against the Spaniard in the Principality. The six-time Grand Slam champion was bidding to move one victory away from joining Nadal as the eighth man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Across four hours and 37 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Nadal and Djokovic contested one of the greatest matches in their ATP Head2Head rivalry.

On a hot, blustery day in Paris, Nadal enjoyed success with his forehand and dominated the opening 75 minutes of the contest to lead by a set and a break. Facing the possibility of a two-set deficit, Djokovic responded emphatically in the next 25 minutes. With pinpoint groundstrokes into both corners of the court, the World No. 1 controlled the baseline and pushed his rival into defensive positions to earn five straight games and level the match.

Djokovic was unable to carry any momentum through to the third set, as Nadal claimed six of seven games to quickly move one set away from the championship match. In the fourth set, Nadal twice led by a break and served for the match at 6-5, only for Djokovic to win three straight points to force a tie-break. The 2012 runner-up dictated rallies throughout the tie-break and took the match to a decider with a driven cross-court forehand passing shot.

“Serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth, I was serving against the wind, so I knew it was going to be a difficult game,” said Nadal.

For just the second time in his career, Nadal would have to contest a fifth set at Roland Garros. Only John Isner, in the first-round in 2011, had previously gone the distance with Nadal at the clay-court Grand Slam championship.

The reigning Australian Open champion imposed himself on Nadal’s serve in the opening game of the decider and held a break advantage until a crucial moment at 4-3. Serving at deuce, Djokovic hit a high forehand volley into the open court, but failed to stop himself from touching the net before the ball had bounced for a second time. The 26-year-old went on to drop his serve with a forehand error.

From 4-4, seven consecutive service holds followed before the match came to an abrupt end. Serving at 7-8, Djokovic’s hopes of joining Robin Soderling as the only man to defeat Nadal at Roland Garros were put on hold. The World No. 1 misjudged a passing shot from his opponent and committed three unforced errors to hand Nadal a famous 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 victory.

“I was a little bit lucky in that game at 4-3, but I think I really fought a lot,” said Nadal. “In Australia, in 2012, it was a similar match and then he won. Today, it was me.”

“It’s been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment. That’s it,” said Djokovic. “I congratulate him, because that’s why he’s a champion. That’s why he’s been ruling Roland Garros for many years, and for me it’s another year.”

Nadal overcame countryman David Ferrer in the championship match to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires for an eighth time. Two years later, Djokovic became the second player to beat Nadal at Roland Garros with a straight-sets victory in the 2015 quarter-finals. The Serbian captured his maiden Roland Garros title in 2016 to become only the third player to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.