Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal are considered the trio that is ruling the World of men’s tennis. They have appeared to have formed a ‘Golden Triangle’ and each player counts the other two as his top rivals. They have won 56 out of the last 67 Grand Slams. Take a look at the rivalries between each of these great players of all time.
Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer (2004-Present)
Competing against each other for over a decade, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are arguably the two most prolific players in Tennis. They have given their fans countless memories during their 40 head to head matches. However, between the two, only one man is holding the aces. The Spaniard leads in this case and has won 24 out of the 40 matches between the pair. While Federer leads 11-9 on hard court, Nadal leads 14-2 on clay. 25 out of their 40 matches have been in tournament finals including nine Grand Slam finals and 12 ATP Tours Masters 1000 finals. Their rivalry has defined the game of Tennis for more than a decade now.
Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer (2006-Present)
Federer and Djokovic are considered the top two hard court players in the Open era. They have faced each other 50 times with the Serbian leading the matchups 27-23. One noteworthy aspect of this rivalry is that Djokovic is the only one to have beaten the Federer in all four Grand Slam Tournaments and likewise, Federer is the only man who has beaten Djokovic in all four Grand Slams. Till 2010, Federer held the lead in their rivalry, but by the end of 2015, they were tied 22-22. Since then, Djokovic is on the lead.
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal (2006-Present)
This rivalry is considered one of the most prolific rivalries in tennis history by players. The two have faced each other 55 times with Djokovic leading 29-26. Out of these 15 have been in Grand Slams with Nadal leading 9-6. Their meeting in the 2012 Australian Open ranks as one of the greatest Grand Slam of all times. It was the longest Grand Slam final that prevailed for nearly six hours in which Djokovic prevailed in five mesmerizing sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5. The greatest feature of this rivalry is the similar playing style of these two players.
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