Nadal vs Djokovic: The rivalry of the titans continues to enthral the tennis world

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will now take their rivalry to the claycourts in Europe

Any clash of the top two players in the world represents the pinnacle of the sport. The matches between World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic have upped the ante. On Sunday at Miami, in the final of the Sony Open, they met against each other for a record 40th time.

In this clash of the titans, Nadal has a slight edge by the margin of 22-18. Nadal is the ‘King of Clay’, while Djokovic is better on hardcourts, winning 14 of their 21 meetings. In Grand Slams however, Djokovic has a negative record of 3-8 against. The two have played 6 Slam finals against each other and have three wins each, which means Djokovic has never defeated Nadal at a Slam when they’ve met anywhere but in the final.

The topmost rivalry in previous decade was that between Nadal and Roger Federer. But now age is quickly catching up to the Swiss, and their rivalry is far from competitive today. Also, Andy Murray is not the same player this year that he was a year ago. At present, Nadal and Djokovic are far and away the best tennis players in the world. So for tennis fans, their match-ups are always a source of delight.

It all began in 2006. The stage was the French Open quarterfinal. Nadal was in devastating form in those days and Djokovic was a star in the making. Nadal won that contest but after the match the Serb said that he had learnt a few things about the claycourt master. Djokovic vowed to apply those lessons in the coming games.

In 2010, the rivalry got further traction. The two met in the final of the US Open. But even though the match took place on Djokovic’s favoured surface, Nadal won it to complete his career Grand Slam. From then on, they extended the rivalry to many other cities and tournaments around the world.

In 2011, the pair played four ATP Masters finals at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome. Djokovic won the first two on hardcourts in tense three-setters, but he also proved his proficiency on clay by defeating Rafa in straight sets in the latter two. The Serb then went on to defeat Nadal in the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open that same year.

2012 began with a victory for Djokovic at Melbourne, in a match that lasted nearly six hours. But at Roland Garros, the Spaniard defeated Djokovic in the finals, after having also defeated him in Monte Carlo and Rome.

Nadal won the Monte Carlo Masters event a record eight consecutive times between 2005 to 2012. No player has won the same tournament so many times in succession, let alone a Masters event. It was Djokovic who broke Nadal’s record grip on the Monte Carlo Masters in 2013, ending his 46-match winning streak there with a straight sets victory. But Nadal then went on a run of three successive victories over Djokovic, including the French Open semifinal and US Open final, to regain the ascendancy in the rivalry.

Nadal and Djokovic have produced some of the best matches in tennis history. The 2009 Madrid Masters semifinal was the longest match in Masters series history. And according to Bjorn Borg, the semifinal of the 2013 French Open was the best match ever played on a claycourt. But the 2012 Australian Open final probably takes the cake; it is regarded as the best match ever played on hardcourts by many tennis pundits and players. That match lasted for a record 5 hours 53 minutes, and it was the talk of the entire sporting world at that time. Djokovic declared the result of that match as his greatest victory and Nadal called it his greatest loss.

After his win in Miami this week, Djokovic was humble as ever. He stressed that his rivalry with Nadal has improved him.

Most of their matches have been thrilling and decided by a few points. And the rivalry has a lot of records to its credit. The two have played 21 Masters matches against each other, which is a record. This is the only rivalry in the Open Era which has featured in all four Grand Slam and all 9 ATP Masters 1000 finals.

Now the ATP Masters event will move to the claycourts in Europe, where Nadal has the edge. It goes without saying, of course, that the French Open will be the ultimate test for both players – Djokovic is desperate to win his first Slam at Roland Garros and complete his Career Grand Slam, and Nadal is eager to hold on to his claycourt supremacy.

Paris can’t come quickly enough! May the rivalry go on.