New chapter. Accomplished the victory of Novak Djokovic (1°) against Italian Matteo Berrettini (9th) by 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5) and 6- in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and of Rafael Nadal (3rd) over Diego Schwartzman (10th) by 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and 6–0, there will be another episode in the rivalry Nole–Rafa. Both will meet in the semifinals and with the aim of accessing the final match in Paris. Here we review the best matches between these two world tennis legends:
To review the first confrontation you have to go back to 2006. In the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, the manacorí won 6-4, 6-4 and withdrawal of the Serbian, who could not continue due to physical discomfort. Finally, the Spanish would end up taking his second trophy in Paris.
The first victory of the current world No. 1 it happened the following year, in 2007: in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 of Miami was imposed by 6-3 and 6-4 and advanced to the semifinals of the American tournament.
On 2008 they saw the faces for first time in a final. At that time, Nadal won 7-6 (6) and 7-5 to lift the ATP 500 title from Queen’s, London. In that same year, in addition, they were measured in the semi-finals of the Beijing Olympics, with a new victory for the one from Manacor by 6-4, 1-6 and 6-4.
In the 2009 were measured seven times: one of them was in the Monte-Carlo end in which Nadal won 6-3, 2-6 and 6-1. Days later, they collided again in the final in Rome and the result was repeated again, the left-hander won 7-6 (2) and 6-2.
The first Grand Slam trophy final it happened in the Us Open del 2010. There The current N ° 3 in the world managed to win 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and 6-2.
The 2011 it was the breakthrough year for the rivalry between them. All the clashes occurred in finals and there were six: Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Roma, Wimbledon y el Us Open. The result? Djokovic prevailed in all of them and raised the titles.
One year later They met again only in finals: Australian Open, Roland Garros, Masters 1000 in Rome and Monte-Carlo. Djokovic could only prevail in the first Grand Slam trophy of the year, leaving the brick dust for the manacorí.
During 2013 They met six times: two in the semi-finals (Canadian Masters 1000 and Roland Garros) and four in the finals (Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, US Open, Beijing and ATP Finals). Rafa He took the victory in the two North American tournaments and in the French Open while the Serbian did the same with the rest.
2014 had the peculiarity that also their confrontations were all in finals. The three meetings were in Miami, Rome and Roland Garros. Nadal won in France while Djokovic won in the United States and Italy. One year later They did it in Monte-Carlo, Roland Garros, Beijing and the ATP Finals. All were triumphs for the Serbian but with the particularity that in the Grand Slam trophy that takes place in Paris they were measured in the quarterfinals, a round in which they had not met since 2007.
2016 saw him face off in Doha, the Indian Wells and Rome Masters 1000s, again with three consecutive wins for Djokovic. Of these encounters, the victory in the Qatari trophy must be highlighted, since he beat Nadal in the decisive match with 6-1 and 6-2 sets. During 2017 They only met once: the semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Madrid (victory for Nadal) being the year in which they met the fewest times since 2006.
In recent years, from 2018 to 2021, the clashes were seven (two in 2018, two in 2019, two in 2020 and one in 2021) with a slight advantage for the manacorí. Nadal prevailed in the semifinal of the Masters 1000 in Rome in 2018, the final of the Masters 1000 in Rome in 2019 and 2021 and the final of Roland Garros in 2020. On the other hand, Djokovic did the same in the final of the Australian Open 2019, the 2018 Wimbledon semi-final and the 2020 ATP Cup final.
The final record has 57 games played: 29 wins for Novak Djokovic and 28 for Rafael Nadal. On brick dust the Spaniard leads the story with 19 victories over 7 of the Serbian. Finally in Paris they only played eight games with Nadal at the head 7-1.
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