Ahead of Saturday's 6 Kings Slam match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, SportsMall takes a look at their head-to-head history and previous meetings.
One of the most hotly contested tennis matches of the Open era will come to an end on Saturday night. Rafael Nadal AND Novak Djokovic 6 Kings will meet for the last time in the Slam held in Saudi Arabia.
The two all-time greats, who have just 46 Grand Slam singles titles between them, will compete for the consolation prize of third place in the lucrative exhibition event. Both were defeated by much younger opponents. Earlier in the competition.
Then in his first game announced his imminent retirementNadal fell to his comrade Carlos Algaraz In straight sets, Djokovic briefly defended himself Jannik Pavi Before landing on the third.
Before the last dance on Saturday, game mole An in-depth look at the previous meetings and head-to-head history between Nadal and Djokovic.
Head-to-head record between Nadal and Djokovic
© Imago
Played by: 60
Nadal's victory: 29
Djokovic wins: 31
Do you want to feel older? The first time Djokovic and Nadal touched the racket, the Spaniard had just celebrated his 20th birthday four days earlier and the Serbian was still a teenager. That battle came in 2006. French Open In the quarterfinals, Nadal won thanks to Djokovic's retirement.
It's been 18 years and the two tennis titans have posed for photos and hugged at the net 60 times, and considering their unusually close number of Grand Slam victories, it's only fitting. -The main record is almost perfectly divided in half.
However, it belongs to Djokovic, a 14-time French Open winner who has beaten Nadal in 31 of 60 matches.
As the 6 Kings Slam was just an exhibition event, the final match between Nadal and Djokovic took place at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the latter made light work of his ailing opponent before achieving his life's goal of becoming gold medalist at the Games.
The last Grand Slam match between Nadal and Djokovic went in the Spaniard's favor (a four-set victory in the 2022 French Open quarterfinals) before he also defeated Djokovic at the 2020 Roland-Garros Championships.
It was one of nine major finals that Nadal and Djokovic contested over the years, with the former winning five to Djokovic's four, although the Serb won one of his best battles in 2012. Australian Open The final marathon of five hours and 53 minutes.
The surface has always made a big difference in previous matches between Djokovic and Nadal, as the Serb has won 20 of his 27 matches on hard courts, while Nadal has won 20 of his 29 matches on clay, and each has cattle two on grass. . .
In terms of streaks, Nadal won five matches against Djokovic between 2008 and 2009, but the Serb has beaten the Spaniard seven times in a row on two occasions, first from 2011 to 2012 and then again from 2015 to 2016. .
Last 20 games:
Paris Olympic Games (2024) – Second Round: Djokovic won 6-1 6-4
French Open (2022) – Quarterfinals: Nadal won 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6[4]
French Open (2021) – Semifinals: Djokovic won 3-6 6-3 7-6[4] 6-2
Italian Open (2021) – Final: Nadal won 7-5 1-6 6-3
French Open (2020) – Final: Nadal won 6-0 6-2 7-5
ATP Cup (2020) – Final: Djokovic won 6-2 7-6[4]
Italian Open (2019) – Final: Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1
Australian Open (2019) – Final: Djokovic won 6-3 6-2 6-3
Wimbledon (2018) – Semifinals: Djokovic won 6-4 3-6 7-6[9] 3-6 10-8
Italian Open (2018) – Semifinals: Nadal won 7-6[4] 6-3
Madrid Open (2017) – Semifinals: Nadal won 6-2 6-4
Italian Open (2016) – Quarterfinals: Djokovic won 7-5 7-6[4]
Indian Wells Masters (2016) – Semifinals: Djokovic wins 7-6[5] 6-2
Qatar Open (2016) – Final: Djokovic won 6-1 6-2
ATP Finals (2015) – Semifinals: Djokovic won 6-3 6-3
China Open (2015) – Final Djokovic won 6-2 6-2
French Open (2015) – Quarterfinals: Djokovic won 7-5 6-3 6-1
Monte Carlo Masters (2015) – Semifinals: Djokovic won 6-3 6-3
French Open (2014) – Final: Nadal won 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4
Italian Open (2014) – Final: Djokovic won 4-6 6-3 6-3
