The biggest rivalry in the history of men’s tennis, that of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, will have a new chapter this Tuesday for the quarter-finals of Roland Garros. And, after cross-declarations, the organization of the tournament has established that it will be played in the night session of the main Philippe Chatrier stadium (20:45 in Paris; 15:45 in Argentina).

“It could be my last game here. I know Roland Garros by day and I prefer to play by day, as I have done throughout my career, “said the Spaniard after his epic win against in five sets Felix Auger Aliassime. The Serbian, for his part, hinted at his opinion saying that it is probably the opposite of Rafa’s.

it will be there lap 59 among these enormous tennis players, a figure that only exceeds the 80 who have played Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Among the men, the following are very recent duels: Federer and Djokovic have faced each other 50 times, Federer-Nadal (40) and Djokovic-Murray (36). Then, further back in time appear Lendl-McEnroe (36), Edberg-Becker (35) and Lendl-Connors (35).

These numbers confirm the difference established by the Big Three, who dominated the circuit for much of the 21st century. They played 145 games, including 69 finals: in this category, Nole beats Rafa (15-11) and Federer (13-6), while the Spaniard beats the Swiss (14-10).

The number 1 in the world dominates history for 30-28but in the Grand Slam the Majorcan is ahead by 10-7, as in their clashes on clay: 19-8 overall and 7-2 in Paris.

In any case, recent history marks a great parity. Since Djokovic first beat Nadal on clay in the 2011 Masters 1000 final in Madrid, Head to Head on that surface favors Rafa only 10 to 8.

Furthermore, he is the only one who has managed to beat him on more than one occasion in his favorite tournament. In 2015, in the quarter-finals, he took advantage of a very weak version of the Spaniard and eliminated him in two sets, while in 2021 they fought for more than four hours and ended up winning in four sets after losing the first.

The detail of a historical rivalry.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic staged battles that will remain etched in the memory of tennis lovers. The most remembered, without a doubt, the of Final of the Australian Open 2012, lasting 5 hours and 53 minutes and it is, to date, the longest match in history among those played with a tiebreak in the decisive set.

They faced each other in all tournament categories that exist in the ATP calendar. In the Grand Slam, what has been said, 10-7 for Rafa, who has largely dominated his arch rival at Roland Garros (7-2) and also has a slight advantage in the US Open (2-1, all finals). The Serbian, for his part, has won the only two duels in Melbourne, the definitions of 2012 and 2019, and in two of the three games played at Wimbledon.

Also, went on tiptoe in all nine Masters 1000s and the record there favors Novak 16-13. They are the leaders of the title of this category: 38 for Nolerecent champion in Rome, e 36 for Raffaeleboth well above the Federer is 28 years old.

A well-remembered match in M1000 was the 2009 Madrid semi-final, the first edition of this tournament on clay. Nadal won 3-6, 7-6 and 7-6 after 4 hours and 3 minutes of play, which made him so match in the longest history in the best of three setssurpassed three years later by Federer-Del Potro of the London Olympics (4:26 ‘).

They then met twice in the definition of the ATP 500 in Beijing, in 2013 and 2015, with victories for the number 1 in the world, while in the ATP 250 they are even 1-1. The Spaniard shouted champion on the London lawn in Queens in 2008 while the one in Belgrade did the same in Doha 2016, which was the fastest duel between the two (6-1 and 6-2 in 1 hour and 13 minutes).

In addition, they met four times in the ATP World Tour finals. The Serbian has won three times, including the 2013 final, only once for the man from Manacor, who has not yet managed to get rid of the thorn of the Masters victory. Tournament.

At the Olympics, a single precedent. He was in the semifinals of Beijing 2008. A few weeks after beating Federer in the Wimbledon final, Nadal beat Djokovic in two tight sets and, days later, won the gold medal in the final against Chilean Fernando González.

And they were also face to face in team competitions. There they split the trumps. In the round of 16 of the 2009 Davis Cup, an edition that consecrated Spain champion for the second consecutive year, the Majorcan prevailed in the decisive point in three sets. That was his first world number 1 win against the Serbian.

Then, closer in time, in the ATP Cup final played in Australia, the one who won, even in two sets, was Novak, a fundamental piece in the consecration of the team led by Nenad Zimonjic.

The chronological path of the duels between Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic

The first meeting between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic took place on 7 June 2006 in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros. The 20-year-old from Manaco won 6-4 and 6-4 and his rival (19) had to retire with pain in his legs and back.

Since then, until this Tuesday, May 31, it will have taken 5,837 days to reach match number 59 of this great rivalry, which means that, in 16 years they played a game on average every 99 days.

The story began with a clear domination of Nadal. They played 18 times from the first match to the 2009 Madrid semi-final and the trend was very marked: 14-4. Novak failed to win two games in a row and lost all four Grand Slam games in those years.

His first victory came in 2007, in the third direct match, which took place in the quarter-finals in Miami. In that year they played seven times, more than in any other season. The Spaniard beat him again in the semifinals at Roland Garros and, a month later, at Wimbledon.

Nole made his debut with a 2008 victory in Indian Wells, while Rafa continued to dominate on clay, including the semifinal at Roland Garros, although he also beat him in the semifinals at the Beijing Olympics on hard courts.

Having dethroned Federer in Wimbledon and Australia, Manacori’s man had to win a hard court final against Djokovicwho was already beginning to be the third in discord. He achieved it in 2010 with a four-set victory in the US Open final and thus completed the Grand Slam.

In 2011, Djokovic started balancing and it became the Spaniard’s worst nightmare. He eventually beat him for the first time on clay in the final of the Masters 1,000 in Madrid. He also won the finals in Rome, Wimbledon, US Open and the Australian Open for the title the following year.

If we add to this that they also met in the Roland Garros final of that 2012, we see it starred in four Grand Slam finals in a row, something unprecedented in the history of tennis. On that clay tour Nadal cut through a six-game winning streak of Djokovic, whom he also beaten in Monte Carlo and Rome.

In 2013, even though Djokovic snatched the Monegasque Masters 1000 from him, the Spaniard, absent for seven months due to injury, returned victorious in the Roland Garros semifinal in five sets, one of the most exciting matches in the history of the tournament. Recovered, he also won the final of the United States Open and only at the end of the season did the Serbian return to dominate on hard courts.

In 2014, history repeated itself: the world number 1 won in Rome, but the Spaniard was intractable at Roland Garros, where he beat him in his second final, two years after the first.

2015 and 2016 were Nadal’s two worst years since his breakthrough in 2005 and two of Djokovic’s best, leading to the absolute dominance of the number 1 in the world: has won all seven games playedincluding the quarter-finals of Roland Garros 2015, his first two-set defeat at the Bois de Boulogne.

Nole took advantage of that weakness and inflicted his second defeat there, although he later lost the final to Stanislas Wawrinka. In 2016, after losing the final in Rome to his great rival, Rafa was forced to retire from Roland Garros with an injury and the Serbian won his only title in Paris.

The victory in the only Grand Slam that was missing, with Nadal and Federer on the way to recovery, seemed to take away the motivation of the Serbian, who fell in the standings.

Since 2017, due to injuries to one or the other at different times, they have not met as often as in previous years and the individual duel was even. In nine crosses, five wins for Rafa, all on clay, including in the 2020 Roland Garros final, and four for Nole, with the 2019 Australian Open final being the most outstanding.

Last year, he also won an intense four-set match in the Roland Garros semi-final, which meant the Spaniard’s third defeat after 107 matches on Parisian clay. Today his record stands at 109-3.

In the previous 59 games, Novak Djokovic has won 81 sets and 761 games; Rafael Nadal remained with 76 sets and 739 games. The tie-break equality is total: 9 to 9. And the Serbian leads 2-1 in the matches reached five sets.