Federer turned around his Rivalry with Nadal at the 2006 French Open with a 6-1 opening set and nearly pushing Nadal to a rare 5th set. Before that match, Nadal had dominated their encounters and it looked like this matchup would prove to be very one-sided. Since then, the rivalry has been very even, with Nadal getting the better of Federer on clay and at the Australian Open, and Federer having the edge everywhere else.
Since the 2006 FO final, Federer's H2H with Nadal is:
9-12 overall
29-35 in sets overall
7-4 off clay
2-8 on clay
0-3 at Roland Garros
0-2 at the Australian Open
2-1 at Wimbledon
3-1 bagel sets
Federer famously struggled with great players like Agassi, Hewitt and Nalbandian in their early meetings, before eventually adapting a more successful strategy against them. He has also struggled at times against very quick baseline players such as Canas, Simon, and Murray. I think Nadal falls into both categories. I don't think Federer will ever come to dominate this matchup (except maybe as Seniors), but I think it's clear that Federer has learned to handle Nadal better over time. The two have played each other fairly evenly for the past 6 years.
Since the 2006 FO final, Federer's H2H with Nadal is:
9-12 overall
29-35 in sets overall
7-4 off clay
2-8 on clay
0-3 at Roland Garros
0-2 at the Australian Open
2-1 at Wimbledon
3-1 bagel sets
Federer famously struggled with great players like Agassi, Hewitt and Nalbandian in their early meetings, before eventually adapting a more successful strategy against them. He has also struggled at times against very quick baseline players such as Canas, Simon, and Murray. I think Nadal falls into both categories. I don't think Federer will ever come to dominate this matchup (except maybe as Seniors), but I think it's clear that Federer has learned to handle Nadal better over time. The two have played each other fairly evenly for the past 6 years.