Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic Head-to-Head

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played each other 60 times on the ATP Tour with Novak leading their head-to-head 31-29.

The first Nadal vs Djokovic match was in the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2006, with Rafa winning the match after Novak retired in the third set.

Their last ATP Tour match was at the Paris Olympics in 2024, with Novak winning the match in straight sets (6-1, 6-4).

Overall Head-to-Head

Grand Slam Matches

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic faced each other a total of 18 times in grand slam tournaments with Rafa leading their grand slam head to head 11-7, and also their grand slam final H2H (5-4).

In total, they met each other twice at the Australian Open (2012 and 2019), ten times at the French Open (2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021, and 2022), three times at Wimbledon (2007, 2011, and 2018), and three times at the US Open (2010, 2011, and 2013).

Their last Grand Slam match was in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open, which Rafa won in four sets (6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6).

Out of their 18 grand slam matches, nine were in a final, six were in a semifinal and three were in a quarterfinal.

Nadal Grand Slam Wins vs Djokovic

Djokovic Grand Slam Wins vs Nadal

Head-to-Head by Surface

Grass

They have played each other four times on grass with their H2H on grass standing at 2 wins each (2-2).

Three out of the four matches were at Wimbledon including an epic 5-set match in the semifinals of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships which Novak won 10-8 in the fifth.

Clay

They have played each other a total of 29 times on clay courts (more than any other surface) with Rafa leading their clay court H2H 20-9.

Hard Courts

They have played each other a total of 27 times on hard courts (indoor and outdoor) with Novak leading their hard court H2H 20-7.

Their last meeting on hard courts was in the final of the ATP Cup, which Novak won in straight sets (6-2, 7-6).

Matches Per Year

Novak and Rafa’s first match was in 2006 (Roland Garros), with their last competitive singles match being in the round of 32 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

From 2006 to 2022, they played each other at least once a year with 2007 and 2009 seeing the most Djokovic vs Nadal matches being played in a single year (7).

Below are match highlights from their last competitive meeting at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, played on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

The match took place in the Round of 32 and marked the 60th meeting of their historic rivalry.

Djokovic won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, extending his overall head-to-head lead to 31-29.

The GOAT Debate

It is becoming increasingly likely that the title of GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) will be either Novak or Rafa, as they both have won more major tennis titles than the recently retired Roger Federer.

At the moment, Novak is the favorite to claim the GOAT title as he has won more ATP titles than Rafa (100 vs 92), more Masters 1000 titles (40 vs 36), more year end number 1s (7 vs 2), more ATP Finals (7 vs 0), and has spent more weeks as the number 1 player in the world.