By Chris Oddo | Thursday, February 27, 2014
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet for the 32nd time in Friday's Dubai semifinals. We go inside the numbers of their storied rivalry.
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 32nd meeting in tomorrow's Dubai semifinal, we'll look back at a few classic Fed-Nole moments and explore some of the numbers that help define the matchup.
16-15
Federer owns the edge in the head-to-head by one match, but Djokovic has taken the last three, six of the last eight, and nine of the last 12.
23
Grand Slams between the two. Federer comes in with an edge of 17-6.
128
Career ATP titles between the two. Federer, once again, has the edge of 77 to 41. Neither player has won a title this season.
9-4
Djokovic's record against Federer in deciding sets, including victories in each of the last four and nine of the last 11. They have played a deciding set in Dubai only once. Federer took that in the 2007 quarterfinal.
26-5
Record of player who wins the first set when Federer and Djokovic play. Federer is only 16-5 when taking the first set against Djokovic, far from a lock. Djokovic is 10-0 when he takes the opener.
54
Number of seconds between points after Federer hit this ridiculous tweener winner vs. Djokovic at the U.S. Open.
5
Number of times that Djokovic has come back from dropping the first set to defeat Federer ('09 Miami, '09 Rome, '10 US Open, '11 US Open, '13 Paris). Federer has never rebounded from losing the first set against Djokovic.
12-12
The pair's head-to-head record in 24 hard-court battles. Djokovic has taken the last three and seven of the last eight.
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's current ranking of No. 8 is the lowest ranking he's ever held when facing Djokovic. In 17 of their previous 31 meetings, one or the other held the No. 1 ranking (Federer 12 times, Djokovic five).
15
Number of tiebreakers the pair have played. Federer holds the slight 8-7 edge.
1
Number of times that Federer has told Djokovic's parents to be quiet.
1-1
Their head-to-head record at Dubai, with Federer winning a 2007 quarterfinal and Djokovic winning the 2011 final.
10-8
Djokovic's record in semifinals against Federer, including 7-5 in hard-court semifinals.
1.37 Million
Djokovic's edge in Twitter followers. He currently has approximately 2.8 million to Federer's 1.43. Surprised? We were.
9.7 Million
Federer more than makes up for the Twitter deficit with a giant Facebook advantage.
35
Number of seconds between points after Djokovic hit this return winner to save a match point at the U.S. Open (go to 1:15 on video below).