After winning Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic has clearly stated that he wants to beat Roger Federer’s record as the man that was the most at the top of the rankings. The Swiss legend commanded this list for 310 weeks, and the Serbian sensation is now at the top for 272 weeks. However, Novak’s biggest hurdle to beat Federer’s record is not the Swiss, but Rafael Nadal.
The Spanish sensation has won 2 slams this year, and he is currently leading Djokovic in the year to date rankings by 1460 points. This means that the Serbian needs to perform extremely well in the last part of the season if he wants to stay no.1 by the end of the year. That would be extremely important for Djokovic as finishing the year at the top means adding at least 10 more weeks to his tally to get closer and closer to Federer.
I need to perform well in Shanghai. DJOKOVIC
Nole is very well aware of the situation, and during a recent press conference in China, he commented:
“I have been in this position many times before, obviously. You know, Rafa has had an amazing year so far, and, you know, I have to do well here in order to really be kind of having a chance or go toe to toe with him in the indoor season.”
H2H and prediction Djokovic vs. Shapovalov
Novak will start his campaign in Shanghai against Denis Shapovalov. The head to head is 2-0 for the Serbian.
Denis is confident that he can create an upset. However, the prediction is still Djokovic winning in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Currently ranked no.1, the Serbian played his last match on the 6th of October when he beat John Millman 6-3 6-2 in the final in Tokyo to win his 76th career title.
This year the Serbian has a 46-8 win-loss record. Novak clinched 4 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon and in Tokyo. Djokovic was the finalist in Rome.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, Nadal played his last match on the 8th of September when he beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 in the final in U.S. Open to win his 84th career title.
This year Rafael has a 47-6 win-loss record. Nadal has won 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. The Spaniard was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they competed against each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome in 19th May 2019.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |
