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Updated on August 24th 2022, 11:18:33 am

Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic – Best 5 Matches

Check out the top 5 best matches of Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic. This is one of the most legendary and historic rivalries not just in tennis but in sport as well.

Tennis is back in the focus again and this time we have a treat for our readers as we will be doing a series of articles on the best matches between 2 great tennis players and first up we have the 22 Grand Slam winner in Rafael Nadal vs 21 Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic. This is one of the most legendary and historic rivalries not just in tennis but in sport as well because these 2 have been going at it for 15 years and even now they are at the peak of their game and winning Grand Slam titles so much so that all the 3 Grand Slam titles this year have been won by these 2.


Before we get into this list I have to acknowledge that we might get even more epic matches between the 2 as these 2 all time greats bring out the best in each other. This is an article that gives me great happiness to write as I am a huge fan of all 3 of them and we will cover Roger Federer in the other articles. So, let’s see the Top 5 Best Matches.


2012 Australian Open Final


First the scoreline of the match was 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 and 7-5 In what is the longest Grand Slam final In the open era at 5 hours and 53 minutes. This much time is enough for almost 4 Football matches and these 2 just kept going at it and the crowd sitting in Rod Laver arena were in for a treat. The sets were mostly closely contested with Novak winning the first set then Rafa came back and in the third Novak won it but in the fourth Rafa won the set in the tie break and it was all down to the last set. Rafael Nadal was 4-2 up in the decider but Novak Djokovic bounced back to win this set and the title.


2013 French Open Semi Final


This time Rafael Nadal won the match of the Titans in his favorite hunting ground which is the French Open. This was the semi final and it was better than the Final. The score for this match was 6-4, 3-6 , 6-1, 6-7 and 9-7 in a match that lasted 4 hours and 37 minutes. Rafael Nadal had it won in the fourth but Novak Djokovic came back and pushed this match to a 5th and it was an 86 minute set where Rafael Nadal won 9-7. It was tennis at its very best.


Also Read | Steffi Graf vs Serena Williams vs Martina Navratilova


2018 Wimbledon Semi Final


This was a very important match for Novak Djokovic as he was fading behind the other 2 and he needed this win to be back in the running. Novak Djokovic fought like a warrior and won this marathon of a match again in 5 sets where the score was 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6 and 10-8 in the decider. Rafael Nadal threw everything at Novak but on this day Novak Djokovic would not be denied as he won this match and ultimately the Wimbledon title and he has not lost there since.


2021 French Open Semi Final


This match that took place last year at the French Open deserves to be in this list for the will that Novak Djokovic showed in this match after being 1 set down by losing it 6-3. Novak Djokovic has said that this was his best performance in recent years. He bounced back in the second set of this match and won it 6-3 but in the third set it was a close call but Novak won it 7-6 and finally in the fourth he won it 6-2 in a match which went for over 4 hours. It was tennis of the highest quality.


2010 US Open Final


We have found a match at the US Open as well that fits this list which makes it all 4 Grand Slams which are featured on this list. This match was in 2010 where Rafael Nadal was at his best and he was looking for his third Grand Slam title of the year. This match was a 4 set thriller where Nadal won the first set 6-3 but Novak came back and won the second set 7-5 but from there it was all Nadal as he dominated this match and won the next 2 sets 6-4 and 6-2 to win the US Open title.


Also Read: Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal Head to Head and Stats Comparison