Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have played an enormous amount of times. In official matches, the Spanish sensation faced his top rival 55 times. Rafa won on 26 occasions while Novak defeated him 29 times.
Head to head per surface
Even if Novak has a positive record against Rafa, it is worth mentioning that the King of Clay has a winning head to head record on his favorite surface. Rafa defeated Novak 17 times on clay while the Serbian won only on 7 occasions. Nadal leads Djokovic 6-1 at the Roland Garros, but it was Novak to win their latest encounter in the French slam in straight sets back in 2015 (7-5 6-3 6-1). However, at that time, Rafa was not at his best.
Probably the most memorable match that the 2 competitors had in France was when Nadal won 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-73 9-7 in the semifinal back in 2013.
Nadal is my biggest rival. DJOKOVIC
Even if Djokovic has been racing for long with both Nadal and Federer to break every sort of record, the world no.1 admitted that Nadal is his biggest rival.
“I’ve played him more than any other player in my career. He’s definitely my greatest rival'” said Novak.
Who is the favorite?
Prediction: Nadal in 5
It’s difficult to pick the favorite. However, also this time, it seems that Nadal has an edge on Djokovic. The world no.2 hasn’t dropped a single set during the last 2 weeks while Djokovic won in 4 against Pablo Carreno Busta and 5 vs Stefanos Tsitsipas. Novak has been struggling with injuries to his neck and left arm, which is not a great sign, especially when you know that you should go over your limits. The prediction is Nadal to win in 5 sets.
Nadal at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Now ranked no.2, Nadal has a 21-4 win-loss record in 2020. Nadal is currently having a run at the French Open where he beat Egor Gerasimov 6-4 6-4 6-2
, Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-1 6-0 6-3, Stefano Travaglia 6-1 6-4 6-0, Sebastian Korda 6-1 6-1 6-2, Jannik Sinner 7-64 6-4 6-1 and Diego Sebastian Schwartzman 6-3 6-3 7-60.Nadal has won 1 title in 2020 in Acapulco. Nadal won 85 titles in his career: 21 on hard courts, 59 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Djokovic at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Ranked no.1, Djokovic has a 37-1 win-loss record in 2020. The Serbian is currently having a run at the French Open where he bested Mikael Ymer 6-0 6-2 6-3, Richard Berankis 6-1 6-2 6-2, Daniel Elahi Galan 6-0 6-3 6-2, Karen Khachanov 6-4 6-3 6-3, Pablo Carreno-Busta 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-2 5-7 4-6 6-1.
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The Serbian has won 4 titles in 2020 at the Australian Open, in Dubai, in New York and in Rome. Novak won 82 titles in his career: 48 on hard courts, 15 on clay courts, 13 on indoor courts and 6 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)