World No. 2 Rafael Nadal is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. With countless accolades and achievements throughout his career, he has inspired millions over the past two decades with his hard work and determination. He has won 22 Grand Slam singles titles in singles, the most by a male tennis player in the Open Era. It has faced the most competition, mainly from Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and still continues to do so.
The iconic rivalry between Nadal and Djokovic needs no introduction and is considered one of the most notable rivalries in tennis history. They played a record 59 times against each other and the Serbian are leading 30-29 head-to-head. 27 of the 59 matches were played on hard courts where the 7-time Wimbledon champion was ahead 20-7, 28 matches were played on the dirt ground where Mallorcan was ahead 20-8 and 4 matches were played on the grass field. 2–2 tied.
The two faced each other for the first time in the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2006, winning 22 Grand Slam titles and eventually winning the title. They have played against each other consistently every year since then. This year, the two faced each other in the quarterfinals of the French Open, where the 36-year-old defeated the 35-year-old and eventually won a record 14th time title.
The rivalry began with Rafael Nadal leading head-to-head. Initially, Nadal managed to beat the Serb most times until 2011. Soon, however, Novak Djokovic began dominating the ATP tour, beating the 14-time French Open champion several times.
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Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic: head-to-head ratio over the last two decades
While Nadal’s stability has been heavily hindered by injuries, only a handful of players have managed to beat him a few times. outside rivalry Djokovic vs Federer head-to-head statistics, another fruitful clash in tennis history. They have played against each other 40 times and the 2022 Australian Open champion is leading 24-16 overall, 14-10 in the finals.
Detailed list of match rates between both players from 2006 to 2022:
- 2006 – 1:0 Nadal
- 2007 – 5:2 Nadal
- 2008 – 4:2 Nadal
- 2009 – 4:3 Nadal
- 2010 – 2:0 Nadal
- 2011 – 6:0 Novak
- 2012 – 3:1 Nadal
- 2013 – 3:3
- 2014 – 2:1 Novak
- 2015 & 2016 – 7:0 Novak
- 2017 & 2018 – 2:1 Nadal
- 2019&2020 – 2:2
- 2021&2022 – 1:1
The Mallorcan had a great year winning two Grand Slam titles and remained undefeated until their fourth round defeat at the US Open. The Serbian legend, on the other hand, faced a major setback as he was unable to attend two Grand Slam events due to lack of vaccination. Just days away from the start of the 2023 season, both players are on the list of Down Under participants as the World No 2 will look to defend their title and aim to win the World No 5’s record 10 title.
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