By Chris Oddo | Friday, March 28, 2014
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will meet for the 40th time on Sunday in the Sony Open final in Miami. Join us as we go inside the numbers of this storied rivalry.
Photo Source: Andy Kentla
On the eve of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic's heavily anticipated Miami final, we take a journey inside the numbers.
40
The numbers of times that Nadal and Djokovic will have met after Sunday, which will be the most of any two players in Open Era history.
More than:
McEnroe v. Lendl (36, Lendl leads 21-15)
Becker v. Edberg (35, Becker leads 25-10 )
Lendl v. Connors (35, Lendl leads 22-13)
Sampras v. Agassi (34, Sampras leads 20-14)
McEnroe vs. Connors (34, McEnroe leads 20-14)
228
The combined number of weeks that Nadal and Djokovic have spent at No. 1 as of this week. Nadal has 127 and Djokovic has 101.
22-17
Nadal holds the edge in the pair's career head-to-head mark. Djokovic took their last battle at the ATP World Tour finals last November, but they have not met this season.
5
The number of winning streaks of three more more matches that Rafael Nadal has put together against Novak Djokovic.
19
The number of finals that the pair have contested. Djokovic leads 10-9, on the strength of a 6-3 edge in hard court finals.
4:03
The duration, in minutes, of the pair's longest best-of-three set match. Nadal defeated Djokovic, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) in the 2009 Madrid final.
7
The longest winning streak that one has achieved against the other. Djokovic won seven consecutive finals against Nadal, beginning at Indian Wells in 2011 and ending at the Australian Open in 2013. Nadal's longest streak against Djokovic is five.
6-3
Nadal holds the edge in deciding sets against Djokovic, but the pair have split their two fifth sets, with Djokovic winning in Australia in 2012 and Nadal winning at Roland Garros in 2013.
13-7
Djokovic’s record against Nadal on hard courts, and he has taken their last two meetings (in Beijing and London of last year).
54
The number of strokes that Nadal and Djokovic played in this ridiculous rally during their 2013 U.S. Open final.
8-4
Nadal’s record against Djokovic in tiebreakers.
5/29/2006
The date the Djokovic and Nadal played their first tour-level match. Djokovic retired after dropping the first two sets in the 2006 French Open quarterfinals.
6
Number of Grand Slam finals that the pair have played. They have split the six, with Nadal winning the last two.
6-3
Nadal’s record in deciding sets against Djokovic. Nadal won the first four, then dropped three in a row, including the five-hour and 53-minute Australian Open final, but the Spaniard has since recovered to defeat Djokovic in five sets in this year’s Roland Garros semis and in three sets at this year’s Montreal Masters.
27
Length of Nadal's career-best hard-court winning streak, which came to an end last year against Djokovic in Beijing.
3
Remarkably, Djokovic is the only man to own three or more Grand Slam victories against Nadal. Roger Federer, David Ferrer, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray each own two.
12
Number of times that the pair have met as No. 1 and No. 2 in the world. Djokovic carried the No. 1 ranking against No. 2 Nadal six times, going 3-3. Nadal held the No. 1 ranking six times against No. 2 Djokovic, going 1-5.
5:53
The length of their 2012 Australian final, which is the longest Grand Slam final in the history of tennis.