5 amazing similarities between the careers of Federer and Djokovic

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic form two-thirds of men's tennis' famed Big-3 trifecta, the other third being Rafael Nadal.

Among a plethora of records created by Federer and Djokovic during the course of their respective careers, a few prominent ones include the duo's all-time leading Grand Slam match win tallies (Federer-357, Djokovic-280), most hardcourt titles (Federer-71, Djokovic-57), and most hardcourt Grand Slam titles (Federer-11, Djokovic-10).

The duo comprise an exclusive set of only two players to have won the Indian Wells-Miami double (winning the first two Masters 1000 titles on the calendar in the same season) at least thrice, and are two of only five players in the Open Era to have won the career Grand Slam (the feat of winning all four Grand Slam tournaments during the course of one's career).

With six and five titles respectively at the ATP Finals, Federer and Djokovic are also two of the most successful players at the season-ending tournament.

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On that note, let us have a look at five amazing similarities between the careers of two of the most successful players to have ever played the sport:

#1 Each player won the career Grand Slam at the French Open in their respective 4th finals

Djokovic and Federer at the French Open

Federer had his first shot at a career Grand Slam at the 2006 French Open, where he suffered his first defeat in a Slam final in eight attempts. The next two opportunities for the Swiss maestro also arrived in the next two years in the Paris final but on each occasion, like the first, Rafael Nadal stood in the way.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion finally broke through for his maiden Roland Garros title in 2009 by beating Nadal's fourth round conqueror Robin Soderling in straight sets in the final. It made Federer only the 3rd player in the Open Era - Rod Laver (1969) and Andre Agassi (1999) being the others - to complete the career Grand Slam.

Djokovic arrived at his first Roland Garros final in 2012, where Nadal thwarted the Serb. The next year, Djokovic squandered a break in the fifth set of their semifinal before going down to the Spaniard. In 2014, Djokovic reached his second Roland Garros final but failed to overcome Nadal in the title match. The year after that, Djokovic had his first Roland Garros win over Nadal in seven matches but fell to Stan Wawrinka in the final.

The Serb was successful in his fourth final though, beating Andy Murray in a four-set match to become the fifth player in the Open Era to win the career Grand Slam and the first since Rod Laver (1969) to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.

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#2 Each player won 15 Grand Slams and 61 titles during their respective dominant decades

Federer (left) and Djokovic

Roger Federer won 61 titles from 85 finals in the 2000s decade, a tally which included 15 Grand Slam titles among a plethora of other records. Federer's 15th Slam of the decade arrived at 2009 Wimbledon, where he beat an inspired Andy Roddick in five sets, sealing the title with his first break of the Roddick serve all match.

In an eerie similarity, Djokovic in the 2010s also won 61 titles but from one fewer final, and like Federer in the 2000s, won 15 Grand Slams. Djokovic's 15th Grand Slam title of the 2010s also arrived at Wimbledon (2019), where the Serb recovered from 7-8 15-40 championship points down on Federer's serve to become the first winner at the grasscourt Major in 71 years to have saved multiple championship points.

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Both men also had their last defeats of the decade (Federer in the 2000s, Djokovic in the 2010s) at the season-ending ATP Finals, where Federer fell in the 2009 semis to Nikolay Davydenko and Djokovic lost to Federer in a round-robin match 10 years later.

#3 Each player has won the most matches and also lost the most matches while occupying the No. 1 spot

Djokovic (left) and Federer

Federer (310 weeks) and Djokovic (275 weeks) are first and third respectively in terms of most weeks at ATP No. 1. That is also the position where each player has enjoyed huge success, with Federer and Djokovic winning over 87% of their matches at the top spot.

In terms of wins by ranking position, Federer has had the most wins (430 of 1237) when he was ranked the number 1 player in the world. However, in terms of losses by ranking position, Federer has also endured most of his losses (56 of 270) when ranked No. 1. This makes it a win-loss rate of 88.4% for Federer when he has been the world's top-ranked player.

The same also holds true for Djokovic. The Serb has had his most wins (349 of 893) by ranking position when he has occupied the numero spot in the ATP rankings. And like Federer, Djokovic has also had his most losses by ranking position (49 of 187) when he has been the world's number 1 player. This makes it a 87.7% win-loss record for Djokovic when he has occupied the top ranking position.

#4 Both Federer and Djokovic have won 45% of their titles when ranked No. 1

Federer (left) and Djokovic

Federer has won 46 of his 103 career singles titles (45%) when ranked No. 1. The Swiss maestro won his first 21 finals as No. 1 before going 25/45 in subsequent finals for a record of 46 titles from 66 finals as the top ranked player. This tally includes 11 Grand Slam titles, 3 ATP Finals titles, 15 Masters 1000 titles, 5 ATP 500 titles and 12 ATP 250 titles.

Djokovic has won 35 of his 77 career single's titles (45%) when ranked No. 1. The 16-time Grand Slam champion has a 35/49 finals record when occupying the top spot. The tally of titles comprises 10 Grand Slams, 3 ATP Finals, 16 Masters 1000s, 5 ATP 500 titles and 1 ATP 250 title.

#5 Both Federer and Djokovic have beaten Nadal in tournament finals more than they have beaten any other player

Federer (left) and Djokovic

Federer has met Rafael Nadal 24 times in tournament finals, which is the most he has met any player in a title match. Federer's 10 wins over the Spaniard is also the highest number of times he has beaten an opponent in a tournament final. The Swiss maestro's next best tally of final wins over an opponent is Andy Roddick (7/7).

The same also holds true for Djokovic. The Serb has faced Nadal 26 times in tournament finals, which is the most he has faced any opponent in the title round. Djokovic has also won most of his titles at the expense of Nadal, beating the Spaniard in 15 tournament finals. The next highest number of Djokovic's final wins over an opponent has come against Federer (14).