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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are two of the most successful players at Roland Garros, winning 15 of the last 17 titles. The Spaniard has a scarcely believable 105-3 record at the claycourt Major, winning a staggering 13 titles. Djokovic hasn't won as many titles in Paris but has an impressive 81-15 win-loss record.
Nadal and Djokovic have locked horns ten times at Roland Garros, with all their meetings happening beyond the fourth round. They have clashed in three quarterfinals (2-1), four semifinals (Nadal leads 3-1) and three finals (Nadal leads 3-0).
The pair have produced some epic clashes at the tournament over the years. On that note, here's a look at Nadal and Djokovic's five most memorable matchups at the claycourt Major:
#5 2015 Roland Garros Quarterfinal: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3, 6-1
The 2015 Roland Garros quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic finds mention on this list for quite a few reasons.
It marked the first time in seven attempts Djokovic beat the legendary Spaniard in the tournament. The defeat was also Nadal's first at Roland Garros and second overall at the time since a defeat to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.
Djokovic burst into a 4-0 lead after 21 minutes before Nadal drew level at 4-4. The Serb squandered two set points on the Nadal serve in the tenth game but took the opener when Nadal missed a routine overhead two games later.
With Djokovic serving better in the second set, the Spaniard had fewer looks on his opponent's serve. Nadal dropped serve at 4-3 down, and Djokovic promptly served out a commanding two-set lead.
This was now unchartered territory for Nadal, who turned 29 on the day, as he had never dropped the first two sets at Roland Garros before.
Djokovic was unrelenting as he opened a 4-0 lead in the third. A sympathetic crowd let out a few cheers as Nadal held serve, but it was soon curtains for the nine-time champion as a double fault ended the contest. It remains the only straight-sets defeat for Nadal at Roland Garros.
With Nadal out, it was Djokovic's best chance to win Roland Garros, but he would go on to stumble against Stan Wawrinka in the final.
#4 2012 Final - Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
In a rain-affected title match in 2012, Rafael Nadal took on Novak Djokovic in a high-stakes contest for both players.
Nadal was looking to go past Bjorn Borg and win a record seventh Roland Garros title. Meanwhile, in his first final at the tournament, Djokovic was looking to become the first player since Rod Laver (1969) to hold all four Slam titles.
It was the Spaniard who burst out of the blocks, taking a commanding two-set lead. Leading 2-0 in the third, Nadal was on the cusp of a seventh title.
However, Djokovic reeled off eight straight games. He took the third set and went 2-0 ahead in the fourth as he looked to become the first player to beat Nadal on clay after losing the first two sets.
With the match getting suspended due to rain, Nadal returned a different player the next day. He immediately got back on serve as Djokovic struggled to hold his.
Djokovic saved four match points in the quarterfinals against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but was unable to do so against Nadal. That ended his run of three straight Grand Slam final wins against the Spaniard.
#3 2014 Final: Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4
Rafael Nadal met Novak Djokovic for the third time in as many years at Roland Garros when they clashed for the 2014 title. Once again, the stakes were high for both players.
Djokovic started the stronger of the two players, taking an early lead. He almost squandered it but saved both break points to take the opener. It could have been a key advantage for the Serb. He was 35-0 in tournament finals after taking the opening set, with Nadal being at the receiving end on seven occasions.
However, the Spaniard was not about to let that happen, not when he was on the cusp of history. Following an early exchange of serves, he broke decisively to draw level and from there, there was going to be only one winner. As Djokovic's belief began to wane, Nadal raced into a two-sets-to-one lead.
Djokovic put up some resistance in the fourth, determined to avoid a repeat of his implosion in the 2012 final. However, he was powerless to stop Nadal becoming the first player in the Open Era to win five consecutive Roland Garros titles.
The Serb said after failing to complete his career Grand Slam:
“That trophy is out of reach this year, but I will come back again, and again, and again and again until I win it.”
The words would turn out to be prophetic.
#2 2013 Semifinal - Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7
With both Nadal and Djokovic in the same half of the draw, they collided one round before the title match. In many ways, though, it was the final before the final, as the winner was expected to beat David Ferrer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who collided in the other last-four clash.
In one of the pair's most memorable Roland Garros clashes, Djokovic would come perilously close to breaching Nadal's bastion. However, he fell agonizingly short as the tide shifted from one player to the other, with neither wanting to cede advantage.
In the gladiatorial slugfest that ensued, Nadal drew first blood after 51 minutes and looked on course for a routine win when he led 3-2 on serve in the second. But that was not to be as Djokovic reeled off four straight games to restore parity.
Nadal, though, reasserted his ascendancy in the contest, going 5-0 ahead in the third before taking the set 6-1. There were more ebbs and troughs in store, though.
The Spaniard twice served for the match in the fourth, but both times Djokovic thwarted him. Nadal was taken the distance for only the second time at Roland Garros.
Riding his new-found momentum, the Serb, leading 4-3, 40-40 on serve, put away a routine smash but only made contact with the net. He lost the point and would go on to lose the game as Nadal roared back into a match he seemed likely to lose. The Spaniard eventually prevailed 9-7 to bring a riveting four-hour 37-minute contest to a close.
Djokovic said after coming ever so close to beating his arch-rival:
“I congratulate him, because that's why he's a champion. That's why he's been ruling Roland Garros for many years, and for me it's another year.”
Nadal would go on to win his eighth Roland Garros title, beating Ferrer in straight sets in the summit clash.
#1 2021 Semifinal: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2
Novak Djokovic suffered a lopsided defeat in the 2020 Roland Garros final against Rafael Nadal as he got bagelled and won only seven games all match. The Serb was determined for revenge when he met Nadal in the semis a year later.
Djokovic squandered two break points in a ten-minute opening game. Nadal made him pay, bursting into a 5-0 lead and pocketing the opening set after his opponent had retrieved one of the breaks.
Djokovic frittered away an early lead in the second but broke again to level proceedings and seemed to be in the ascendancy. However, he went on to surrender his serve.
Serving for the set, the Serb was broken in the 10th game and the momentum seemed to be swaying Nadal's way. However, in one of the best passages of play, Djokovic played out a nerveless drop set before taking the 92-minute set in a tiebreak.
With the night-time curfew hours extended to 11 PM, fans were allowed to witness the close of an epic contest. Nadal looked to take the contest into a fifth set, breaking early. However, Djokovic responded with two breaks of his own, reeling off four games in a row to close the contest.
Djokovic eventually became the first player to beat Nadal twice at Roland Garros, as the 13-time champion endured his first semifinal defeat in 14 matches at the tournament. The Serb said after the match:
“It was a privilege to face Rafa in such an incredible match. Tonight it was my greatest ever match in Paris.”
He would go on to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in a five-set final to become the first player in the Open Era to win each Major at least twice.
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