Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal delivered one of the greatest rivalries of all time during their illustrious careers.
The two legends clashed 60 times on the ATP Tour, with the head-to-head 31-29 in favour of the Serb.
At Grand Slams, however, Nadal leads 11-7, and in major finals he has a 5-4 winning record against Djokovic.
Who is the greatest male tennis player of all time?
On one occasion, the now-24-time major champion faced the King of Clay and completely ‘destroyed’ him, according to Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
Patrick Mouratoglou recalls the 2019 Australian Open final
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “I will always remember that Grand Slam Final at the Australian Open (2019) when he played against Rafa.
“I was there But I was literally, physically one meter away from them in the locker room just before the final, and I see Rafa is doing all the Rafa things.
“He is jumping. He’s putting on all this crazy energy that he always puts on right before entering the court.
“And Novak is not here, and everybody wonders where is he? And suddenly, bam, the doors of the fitness [room] and Novak enters a king.
“Unbelievable! The aura around him, the looks in his eyes, you could feel that this guy was on a mission and he destroyed him.
“[It was] three sets but really three straight sets. He just outplayed Rafa. This guy was on a mission!”
Djokovic beat Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match at Melbourne Park that year to hoist his seventh Australian Open trophy and 15th Grand Slam title overall.
Novak Djokovic said he still had not figured Rafael Nadal out after beating him in 2019
Despite the convincing scoreline, Djokovic was hesitant when asked after the match if he had figured Nadal out.
In his post-match press conference that day, he said: “I don’t want to say I figured him out because I don’t want that to bounce back at me in any way in the future.
“I might have figured him out for the match, but not for life. I mean, I’m sure we’re still going to have a lot of matches against each other on different surfaces. I look forward to it.
Would Rafael Nadal be the undisputed GOAT if not for injuries?
“I really hope we will because this rivalry has been the most significant rivalry, the one that impacted me on a personal and professional level than most in my life.”
Djokovic and Nadal faced off for the very last time at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where the former came out on top.
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