Djokovic–Nadal rivalry
The tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is the most prolific in men's tennis in the Open Era. It is widely considered by players, coaches, and pundits as one of the greatest rivalries in the history of tennis. The pair have contested at least one professional match every year from 2006 to 2022, and the ATP Tour listed the rivalry as the third-greatest of the 2000s decade, despite only starting in 2006. Statistically, Nadal and Djokovic are two of the most successful male players in the history of the sport, with both considered the greatest of all time.
The two have faced each other 59 times, including in all four major finals, with Djokovic leading 30–29 overall. Djokovic leads 15–13 in finals of all levels, while Nadal leads 11–7 at the majors, including 5–4 in major finals. Nadal leads 8–2 at the French Open and 2–1 at the US Open, while Djokovic leads 2–0 at the Australian Open and 2–1 at Wimbledon. To date, Djokovic is the only player to have beaten Nadal in all four majors.
Of their 59 meetings, 27 matches have been on hard courts with Djokovic leading 20–7, 28 on clay with Nadal leading 20–8, and 4 on grass where they are tied 2–2.
The first meeting occurred at the 2006 French Open in the quarterfinals, where Nadal prevailed after Djokovic retired with an injury in the third set; Djokovic later commented to the media that he understood what he needed to do to beat Nadal and claiming Nadal "was beatable on clay". Their first encounter in a final came at the 2007 Indian Wells Masters where Nadal won the event. Djokovic's first victory came in their third meeting against each other at the 2007 Miami Masters where he won the event.
Between 2006 and 2009, this rivalry was overshadowed by Nadal's rivalry with Roger Federer. It started to become widely recognized when the pair contested their first major final at the 2010 US Open. From March 2011 to April 2013, the pair contested eleven consecutive tournament finals, with Djokovic winning eight and Nadal three, the only duo to achieve such a feat in the Open Era. It is one of two rivalries in men's tennis (the other one being the Djokovic-Murray rivalry) to involve meetings in the finals of all four majors, including four consecutive finals in 2011–12, and a record 29 Masters matches. Their French Open rivalry alone consists of ten matches, an Open Era record between two players at a single tournament.
Some of their matches are considered to be classics and among the greatest matches of all time including the 2009 Madrid Masters semifinal, 2011 Miami Masters final, the 2012 Australian Open final, the 2013 French Open semifinal, 2018 Wimbledon semifinal, and the 2021 French Open semifinal. Their 2012 Australian Open final has been lauded as the greatest match ever played by some long-time tennis pundits, analysts, and former players and legends of the sport.