3 players who have faced Rafael Nadal 5 times or more and have a positive head-to-head record against him ft. Borna Coric
Rafael Nadal has enjoyed the upper hand against the best players in tennis right from the time he began playing the game as a teenager. Several top players who dominated the tour in the early 2000s were humbled once Nadal established himself as a force to be reckoned with from 2005 onwards.
While the Spaniard enjoys a positive head-to-head record against most players on the tour, there are a few who have got the better of the Mallorcan on several occasions.
Let's take a look at 3 players who have a positive head-to-head record against Nadal after having played the Spaniard five times or more.
#3. Nikolay Davydenko leads 6-5 against Rafael Nadal
Nikolay Davydenko has taken on Rafael Nadal 11 times and has beaten the Spaniard on six occasions. Nadal first got the better of Davydenko in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup in China before beating the Soviet-born player in the Rome Masters a year later.
Davydenko pulled one back in the final of the Miami Masters in 2008 but failed to overcome the Spaniard on the claycourts of Monaco the same year.
Rafael Nadal had to retire midway through the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris in 2008 before prevailing against Davydenko in the semifinals of the 2009 Barcelona Open.
The former World No. 3 then tilted the scales in a big way with four wins on the trot against Nadal, beginning with the final of the Shanghai Masters in 2009 which was followed by a win at the ATP Finals in Great Britain later that year.
Victories in the summit clash at Doha in 2010, and the semifinals at the same venue a year later saw the Russian initiate a period of dominance over Nadal, who finally beat Davydenko at Madrid one last time in 2012.
#2. Borna Coric (3-2)
The Croatian veered ahead of Nadal with a 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-3 win over the Spaniard in the first round of the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday to gain the advantage in their head-to-head.
THE BORNA SUPREMACY!
@borna_coric defeats Nadal for the 3rd time in his career 😯 https://t.co/QHQKQp8jHh
Nadal, who returned to action after a six-week hiatus, did not display any signs of his serve being hampered by the abdominal tear that forced him into the injury break.
It was Nadal's first match since beating Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals before withdrawing from the tournament ahead of a semifinal showdown against Nick Kyrgios.
Coric first beat Nadal in the quarterfinals at Basel in 2014 before the Spaniard overcame the Zagreb-born player in the first round of the 2015 US Open.
The see-saw battle continued with Coric beating Nadal in the round-of-16 at Cincinnati in 2016 before going down in the Canada Masters the following year.
Six years after defeating Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati, Borna Coric repeated the feat and now leads their head-to-head 3-2.
#1. Novak Djokovic (30-29)
The two legends have faced off 59 times, with Novak Djokovic enjoying a razor-thin edge against Rafael Nadal in the head-to-head.
It all began during the quarterfinals of the 2006 French Open, where the Serb had to retire. Nadal emerged victorious in their second match as well, defeating Djokovic in the final of the 2007 Indian Wells Open in what was the early stages of a fledgling and intense rivalry.
The two last met during an epic French Open quarterfinals earlier this year, where Djokovic began as the favorite after Nadal seemed to be hindered by a debilitating foot injury. Even so, the inspired Spaniard overcame his arch rival en route to his 14th title at Roland Garros.
Notable among the many classics played out by the duo was Djokovic's win against the King Of Clay in the finals of the 2011 Madrid Masters, which was followed by another remarkable victory in the final of the Italian Open in Rome.
Interestingly, the Serb defeated Nadal seven times in a row as part of a juggernaut of wins that began in the finals of the 2011 Indian Wells Open and continued up until the 2012 Monte-Carlo Masters final. The Spaniard beat Djokovic in straight-sets and would go on to win six of their next seven matches.
9-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal loses in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 in quarters to top-seeded Djokovic http://t.co/RRXagQDUUl