By Chris Oddo | Sunday, March 22, 2015
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet for the 38th time on Sunday at Indian Wells. Join us for a trip inside the numbers.
Photo Source: AP
Though it has been overshadowed historically by Federer-Nadal, and of late by Nadal-Djokovic, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have had no shortage of classic moments during their storied rivalry. In honor of their 37th meeting at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday, we'll add up some of the numbers that have made this rivalry special.
38
Number of times Djokovic and Federer have locked horns, which moves them past past Federer and Nadal (33), Connors and McEnroe (34), Connors-Lendl / Becker-Edberg (35) and Lendl-McEnroe (36) for second-most head-to-head meetings by two players. After meeting five times in 2014 and already twice in 2015 the pair are inching closer to Djokovic-Nadal.
Here are the top seven:
1. Djokovic-Nadal, 42
2. Federer-Djokovic, 38
3. Lendl-McEnroe, 36
4. Connors-Lendl, 35
4. Becker-Edberg, 35
5. Connors-McEnroe, 34
5. Agassi-Sampras, 34
6. Federer-Nadal, 33
20-17
Federer owns the edge in the head-to-head by two matches. Federer took three of five in 2014, and also took their meeting in this year's Dubai final.
25
Grand Slam titles between the two. Federer comes in with a pretty hefty edge of 17-8. Go ahead and relive some of the glory of their 2014 Wimbledon final, you know you want to:
6-5
Djokovic owns the slight edge in career finals against the Swiss maestro, due to the fact that he had won three in a row (Indian Wells, ’14, Wimbledon, '14, World Tour Finals, ’12) until the loss at Dubai in February.
133
Career ATP titles between the two. Federer, five years Djokovic's senior, has the edge of 84 to 49. .
440
Number of total weeks at No. 1 between the two. Federer has most all-time with 302, while Djokovic is just three shy of sixth all-time with 138. The Serb will tie Rafael Nadal with 141 weeks at No. 1 after Miami concludes.
92-16
Federer and Djokovic's combined record at Indian Wells over the years. Federer owns four titles and Djokovic owns three.
40
The number of times a Big Four (Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Murray) member have won titles in the last 44 Masters 1000 events. The only players to break through during this 44-event span are Robin Soderling (2010, Paris), David Ferrer (2012, Paris), Stan Wawrinka (2014, Monte-Carlo) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2014, Toronto)
11-5
Djokovic's record against Federer in deciding sets, including victories in six of the last seven deciders.
29-8
Record of player who wins the first set when Federer and Djokovic play. Federer is only 19-7 when taking the first set against Djokovic, far from a lock. Djokovic is 10-1 when he takes the opener.
67
The lowest ranking that either player has taken into a meeting with the other. Djokovic was a qualifier ranked 67 in the world when he faced Federer in the first round at Monte Carlo in 2006. Federer was ranked eighth when he faced Djokovic in Dubai last year, which is the lowest ranking he's ever held when facing the Serb. In 18 of their previous 36 meetings, one or the other held the No. 1 ranking (Federer 12 times, Djokovic 6).
Federer comes in ranked No. 2, while Djokovic is ranked No. 1.
18
Number of tiebreakers the pair have played, with each player winning nine. The pair split two tiebreakers at the Wimbledon final, with Federer winning the first set breaker and Djokovic taking the third.
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43
Number of career Masters 1000 titles that Federer and Djokovic own, combined. Federer, bidding for Masters title No. 24, owns a career record of 316-90 at this level, while Djokovic owns a career record 232-56 at the Masters level.