Djokovic-Nadal rivalry

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have faced each other a record 60 times, making it the most frequent rivalry in the Open Era of men's tennis. Djokovic currently leads their head-to-head with a slight advantage of 31 wins to Nadal's 29. Their epic battles have spanned all surfaces and every major tournament.

Rafael Nadal is widely considered the "King of Clay" and holds a dominant record against Djokovic on the surface. They have met at the French Open 10 times, with Nadal winning 8 of those encounters. However, Djokovic is the only player to ever beat Nadal twice at Roland Garros.

The 2012 Australian Open final is their most famous and grueling encounter, lasting a brutal 5 hours and 53 minutes. Novak Djokovic won the match in five sets, breaking the record for the longest Grand Slam final in history. Both players were famously given chairs during the trophy presentation because they were physically exhausted.

Djokovic and Nadal have met in 9 Grand Slam finals across all four major tournaments. Nadal has won 5 of those finals, while Djokovic has won 4. Their most recent Grand Slam final matchup was at the 2021 French Open, where Djokovic came back from two sets down to win.