Djokovic vs Nadal
Djokovic leads Nadal 31–29 in 60 matches, the most-played men's rivalry of the Open Era. Nadal ruled clay 20–9 and Djokovic hard courts 20–7. Their points ran longest of any great men's rivalry: 17 % went ten shots or more.
The split
| Djokovic | Nadal | |
|---|---|---|
| Clay | 9 | 20 |
| Hard | 20 | 7 |
| Grass | 2 | 2 |
| Grand Slams | 7 | 11 |
| Grand Slam finals | 4 | 5 |
| All finals | 15 | 13 |
How the rivalry is played
Across all 60 matches, 17 % of points went ten shots or more, the longest rallies of the great men's rivalries. Every rally-length band split almost exactly 50/50.
Match Charting Project, our tally of the charted matchesOn clay, Nadal usually won the short points. At Roland-Garros 2021, Djokovic drew those level and won the five-to-eight-shot rallies 53–39, and won the match.
Matthew Willis, The Racquet (Golden Set Analytics data)Djokovic's heavy cross-court forehand pinned Nadal on his backhand side: at Roland-Garros 2021 Nadal hit more backhands than forehands, the only time in their clay matches.
Matthew Willis, The Racquet
The matches that defined it
- 2012 · Australian Open finalDjokovic 5–7 6–4 6–2 6–7 7–5
5 h 53 min, the longest Grand Slam final on record, finishing after 1:30 am.
ESPN - 2013 · Roland-Garros semi-finalNadal 6–4 3–6 6–1 6–7 9–7
Nadal came back from 2–4 in the fifth. Often called the best clay match ever.
Tennis.com - 2021 · Roland-Garros semi-finalDjokovic 3–6 6–3 7–6 6–2
Only Nadal's third loss at Roland-Garros.
ESPN - 2024 · Paris Olympics, second roundDjokovic 6–1 6–4
Their last match, played at Roland-Garros.
ATP
Questions
What is the Djokovic vs Nadal head-to-head?
Djokovic leads 31–29 in 60 matches, the most-played men's rivalry of the Open Era.
Who won more Grand Slam matches, Djokovic or Nadal?
Nadal, 11–7. Djokovic is the only player to beat Nadal at all four majors.
What we don't claim
- The 2024 Six Kings Slam exhibition isn't counted. Surface and finals splits come from Wikipedia.