Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement from Tennis after Davis Cup next month. After 23-year-long career and 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, he has decided to call it a day. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic are considered as the Big 3 of Tennis. The Trio shares 66 Men's Grand Slam Titles. Novak Djokovic has 24, the highest Grand Slam Title ever while Federer has 20 titles to his name. Here's a look at how many times has Rafael Nadal defeated Federer and Jokovic respectively.
Nadal vs Jokovic
Rafael Nadal's rivalry with Roger Federer is renowned for its memorable encounters, but his competition with Novak Djokovic featured more matches and was closely contested.
Their record-breaking 60 meetings saw Djokovic winning 31 times, while Nadal claimed 11 out of 18 Grand Slam encounters. In the Open era, no two men have faced each other more often on the ATP Tour; Djokovic and Federer have played 50 times.
In a 2022 interview with Globo Esporte, Nadal stated, "My greatest rival is Novak Djokovic." Djokovic has dominated hard courts for much of his career, winning a record 10 Australian Opens and four US Open titles. On hard surfaces, he leads Nadal 20-7, while Nadal has a 20-9 advantage on clay, where he has secured 14 French Open titles. Their encounters on grass have been limited to four matches, with each player winning two.
Nadal vs Federer
The tennis rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is regarded as one of the greatest in the sport's history. They faced each other 40 times, with Nadal leading 24–16 overall and 14–10 in finals.
Of their 40 encounters, 20 took place on hard courts, 16 on clay, and 4 on grass. Nadal holds a significant advantage on clay (14–2), while Federer leads on grass (3–1) and has a slight edge on hard courts (11–9). In Grand Slam matches, Nadal leads 10–4, including a perfect 6–0 at the French Open and a 3–1 advantage at the Australian Open; Federer leads 3–1 at Wimbledon. They came close to meeting at the US Open on several occasions, but were thwarted each time: Nadal lost to Andy Murray in the 2008 semifinals and Juan Martín del Potro in 2009, while Federer lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2010 and 2011 semifinals, Tommy Robredo in the 2013 fourth round, and del Potro in the 2017 quarterfinals. They are tied at 3–3 in their five-set matches.
