French Open Final: Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal - head-to-head, Statistics, Form Guide

Ahead of their eighth French Open clash on Sunday, we take a look at the records that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could at Roland Garros.

Published : Oct 11, 2020 14:09 IST

Novak Djokovic leads 29-26 in their overall clashes, but Rafael Nadal leads 9-6 in Grand Slam matches, including 6-1 at the French Open.
Novak Djokovic leads 29-26 in their overall clashes, but Rafael Nadal leads 9-6 in Grand Slam matches, including 6-1 at the French Open.
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Novak Djokovic leads 29-26 in their overall clashes, but Rafael Nadal leads 9-6 in Grand Slam matches, including 6-1 at the French Open.

World No. 1 Djokovic, the 2016 champion at Roland Garros, reached his fifth French Open final and a third title clash at Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal.

The Serbian will meet 12-time champion Nadal in the final for the duo's 56th overall clash, which is highest in the open era.

Djokovic is one of only two men to have defeated Nadal at Roland Garros in 15 years, while Nadal will be aiming for his 100th French Open win - the highest in the tournament history. Nadal 99 wins from 101 matches Roland Garros is the third highest for any player at single Grand Slam - Only Roger Federer (102 Australian Open, 101 Wimbledon) has won more.

A look at the key facts and records of the two modern-day greats ahead of their title clash on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic

Novak-Djokovic
Novak Djokovic reached the French Open final after earning a hard-fought 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
 

Age: 33

ATP ranking: 1

Grand Slam titles: 17 (Australian Open - 8; French Open - 1 ; Wimbledon - 5; U.S. Open -3)

Career ATP titles: 81

2019 French Open performance: Semi-final

Best French Open performance: Winner (2016)

 

Road to final

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Novak Djokovic has suffered defeat only once in 32 matches in 2020.
 

First round: Mikael Ymer (Sweden) 6-0 6-2 6-3

Second round: Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) 6-1 6-2 6-2

Third round: Daniel Elahi Galan Riveros (Colombia) 6-0 6-3 6-2

Fourth round: 15-Karen Khachanov (Russia) 6-4 6-3 6-3

Quarter-finals: 17-Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4

Semi-finals: 5-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 6-3 6-2 5-7 4-6 6-1

The top-ranked Serb suffered a major scare when he let a two-set lead slip against Tsitsipas but he steadied the ship to seal a spot in his 27th Grand Slam final.

 

Djokovic, who is bidding to become only the third male player to win all four Grand Slams twice, leads the head-to-head against Nadal 29-26.

Victory on Sunday would give Djokovic an 18th Grand Slam, leaving him one behind Nadal and two shy of Roger Federer.

 

Rafael Nadal

Rafael-Nadal
Twelve-time French Open Rafael Nadal has only lost two matches at Roland Garros out of the 100 he has played.
 

Age: 34

ATP ranking: 2 (Highest ranking: 1)

Grand Slam titles: 19 (Australian Open - 1; French Open - 12; Wimbledon - 2; U.S. Open - 4)

Career ATP titles: 85

2019 French Open performance: Winner

Best French Open performance: Winner (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019)

 

Road to final

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Rafael Nadal has not dropped a set enroute to the French Open final - a feat he matched from his 2017 performance.
 

First round: Egor Gerasimov (Belarus) 6-4 6-4 6-2

Second round: Mackenzie McDonald (U.S.) 6-1 6-0 6-3

Third round: Stefano Travaglia (Italy) 6-1 6-4 6-0

Fourth round: Sebastian Korda (U.S.) 6-1 6-1 6-2

Quarter-finals: Jannik Sinner (Italy) 7-6(4) 6-4 6-1

Semi-finals: 12-Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) 6-3 6-3 7-6(0)

Nadal marched into his 13th French Open final by defeating Schwartzman in straight sets. The Spaniard has not dropped a set en route to the final -- a feat he last achieved in 2017.

The world number two has beaten Djokovic in six of their seven clashes at Roland Garros, including the 2012 and 2014 finals, but lost their most recent meeting in the 2015 quarter-finals.

A victory for Nadal would improve his win-loss record at Roland Garros to 100-2 and ensure a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title.

 

Head-to-head:

 

Djokovic leads 29-26 (3-2 in their last five meetings)

2020 Djokovic beat Nadal 6-2 7-6(4) (ATP Cup, hard)

2019 Nadal beat Djokovic 6-0 4-6 6-1 (Rome, clay)

2019 Djokovic beat Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-3 (Australian Open, hard)

2018 Djokovic beat Nadal 6-4 3-6 7-6(9) 3-6 10-8 (Wimbledon, grass)

2018 Nadal beat Djokovic 7-6(4) 6-3 (Rome, clay)

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