From the first glance of 17-year-old Rafael Nadal in Miami in 2004 to the historic milestone of 20 Grand Slam titles of father-of-four Roger Federer in Melbourne two years ago, the battle between the two opponents has many fates.

On Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris tonight, they will together write the 39th chapter in their rivalry history.

Nadal (left) is completely overwhelmed in terms of head-to-head stats compared to Federer.

2004-2005 period: Who is this guy?

2006-2008 period: Roger is King, but is afraid of Rafa.

Nine of those wins came on clay, where the Spaniard’s topspins buried all hopes of his opponents.

And until one day at that `holy place` All England Club…

2008: A gloomy day in July.

Until then, Federer only talked about his determination to repel Nadal’s increasingly deep invasion of the hard court and grass courts that he currently dominates.

After 4 hours and 48 minutes and several times interrupted by the rain, Nadal opened a new era by defeating the `Express Train` and casting darkness over the entire Center Court, once considered the place where the

Period 2009-2015: Tears of Roger and his `frenemy` enemy Rafa.

Nadal then consoled the defeated soldier who had lost five consecutive matches at his hands, but that sympathy did not last long as Federer won his second clay court victory in the Madrid final in the next meeting.

Federer’s return makes this year’s tournament even more attractive.

Period 2017-2019: The King is resurrected.

And it was surprising to see Federer not playing a single match in six months and even being considered a `loser` having defeated his familiar opponent in a dramatic five-set match in the 2017 Australian Open final.

A new beginning ?

`The most interesting thing that sports brings is the element of surprise,` Federer said.