Which player has beaten Rafael Nadal the most? All you need to know about the King of Clay's toughest opponent
Rafael Nadal is one of the greatest players to ever grace a tennis court. The Spaniard has enjoyed a stellar career, winning 92 singles titles, and he also holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles by a man (22).
In addition, Nadal has 36 Masters 1000 titles and an Olympic gold medal in both singles and doubles to his name. He has won 1,058 out of 1,270 matches in his career so far, with a staggering win percentage of 83.3%.
The 36-year-old challenged Roger Federer during his period of dominance in the mid-2000s and managed to register several big victories over him. He even ended the Swiss's 65-match winning streak on grass by winning the epic Wimbledon 2008 final.
A number of players have gone toe-to-toe with Nadal over the years, but nobody has challenged him quite like Novak Djokovic has. Statistically, the Serb has been Nadal's toughest opponent, having defeated him 30 times in 59 matches. That is way more than any other player has managed.
Sixteen years. 59 matches between Djokovic and Nadal and the gap is only 30-29
One of the greatest rivalries in sports
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic first locked horns in the quarterfinals of the 2006 French Open. Nadal won the first two sets in that match before his opponent retired due to injury.
Since then, the two legends have forged one of the greatest rivalries in the history of tennis. By the end of 2010, Nadal led the head-to-head against Djokovic 16-7, but the Serb reached a whole other level from 2011 onwards.
That year Djokovic beat the King of Clay in each of their seven encounters, all of which were finals.
If you break down their head-to-head, you see that Nadal leads Djokovic 20-8 on clay while the Serb leads 20-7 on hard. The record between the pair on grass is tied at 2-2.
The two have locked horns nine times in Grand Slams so far, with Nadal leading 5-4.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have played some thrilling matches over the years
There have been some scintillating matches between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic over the years, the most notable of which was the Australian Open final in 2012.
Djokovic won the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 after five hours and 53 minutes of high-quality tennis. The match remains the longest Grand Slam final in terms of duration.
Longest matches in Djokovic-Nadal Rivalry:
2012 Australian Open: 5:53
2018 Wimbledon: 5:15
2022 Roland Garros: ??
Nadal and Djokovic recently met each other in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open, with the Spaniard triumphing in four sets. With Nadal likely to compete at Wimbledon later this month, the pair could potentially meet in the final of the tournament - which would be their 60th match against each other.