Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are preparing to face each other for the 60th time in the second round of the Olympics.
The rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is arguably the most prolific in men’s tennis in the Open Era, with the pair still neck-and-neck after 59 tour level meetings.
With the pair having contested at least one professional match every year from 2006 to 2022, they have also faced each other in all four major finals, with Djokovic leading 30–29 overall.
Nadal and Djokovic are statistically two of the most successful players in the sport’s history with a whopping 46 grand slams between them.
From fellow players and coaches, to pundits, it is dubbed one of the greatest rivalries, with Nadal entering their second round clash with 20 wins out of their 28 clay court meetings.
Before their blockbuster round two match-up, let’s rewind the clock and go through their three best matches in history.
3. 2021 French Open semi-final
Scoreline: Djokovic wins 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
As dusk descended on Paris for the most anticipated match of the tournament, the stakes had never been higher for Djokovic who was seeking to become the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four Grand Slams on multiple occasions.
The Serb had a nightmare start as Nadal raced to a 5-0 lead before taking the opener, whipping shots into each corner in his typical relentless style.
After Djokovic produced a spell-binding second set to win 6-3, the pair bruised their way through one of the greatest sets ever, with the Serb taking it in a tie-break after 97 minutes.
As ever, Nadal bounced back to streak to a 2-0 lead in the fourth, but Djokovic was simply unstoppable and with a catalog of punishing groundstrokes and deft volleys, reeled six games off in a row to progress to the final.
At the time the defeat marked Nadal’s third ever defeat at the French Open in his 108th match at the tournament and ending his 35-match winning streak in Paris.
2. 2013 French Open semi-final
Scoreline: Nadal wins 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–7, 9–7.
This match saw the most vicious momentum swings throughout, with the pair constantly biting back at each other with audacious shot-making and remarkable signs of resilience.
This five-set thriller remains just the second time out of three in Nadal’s career that he was pushed all the way at the French Open.
A match loaded with drama and controversy saw Djokovic, up a break in the fifth set, touch the net on a winner that would have put him within just a single game of victory.
Rocked by this crucial mistake, Nadal put on a brave display to save the break and eventually win the final set in four hours and 37 minutes.
Bearing in mind, Nadal had taken seven months off from mid-2012 to February 2013 to recover from a knee injury, the Spaniard emerged the victor of one arguably the best clay court match of all time.
1. 2012 Australian Open Final
Scoreline: Djokovic wins 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7, 7–5.
Everyone and anyone remembers this lung-busting finale in Melbourne as the world’s top two visibly wobbled through the trophy ceremony and were given chairs to sit on after nearly six hours on court.
It was the third consecutive major final featuring Djokovic and Nadal, with the Serb having come through an epic semi final against Andy Murray, which also went to five sets, lasting just shy of five hours.
Upon the winning shot, the contest became the longest Australian Open match and the longest major final match in history, lasting five hours and 53 minutes, overtaking Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl’s record in their marathon 1988 US Open final.
It was simply a war of attrition with the scores so finely balanced as they headed into the final set, with Nadal losing his break advantage and the Serb finally serving the match out.
It remains one of the best grand slam finals to date, and with the head-to-head still so close, can Nadal level things up, or will Djokovic have the last laugh.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
